Mind Games
by PotterWeasleyGranger15
Summary: Rose and Dimitri go back to Baia to reunite with his family, however the joyful reunion is overshadowed by the taint of their past... The tables have turned, and the task of finding Rose falls on Dimitri's shoulders, but the two face internal struggles as they fight to hold on to who they really are.
1. Chapter 1

I couldn't hold back a grin as I watched him practically bounce with excitement in his chair- he hadn't stopped smiling since the plane had taken off, and seeing the smile come to his lips oh so easily had kept us both in a bubble of bliss. It was the best. _Perfection. _

"Hmmm?" he turned to me in confusion. I realised with horror that I'd said that out loud, and a blush began to creep onto my face as I ducked my head.

"What's this?!- Rose, embarrassed? No witty retort?" he taunted with a glimmer in his eyes. I shoved his shoulder somewhat half-heartedly.

"Honestly, I'm too excited to care." I sighed with a smile, flicking the window cover of our window up just in time to see the first rays of Sunlight peak out over the horizon.

"Wow," I breathed, "Gorgeous." The swirling riot of pink and gold lit up the grey sky, creating an utterly captivating image and I heard Dimitri's quick intake of breath beside me. "Gorgeous" he repeated, but when I glanced at him his eyes were on me, not the scene out the window.

Smiling, I snuggled in closer to his side and closed my eyes, breathing him in and getting comfy in preparation for the next 10 hours of the flight to Omsk. From there, we would take a rental car down to Baia- much like I had with Sydney not so long ago, but this time with a much lighter heart and no trace of the burden I had beared on my last trip.

I had planned to sleep for as much as the flight as possible, but the buzz of anticipation kept my mind awake, so I allowed my thoughts to wander aimlessly as I took comfort in Dimitri's presence against my side. Our seats were fantastic- perfect I dare say: Lissa had made sure of that.

Thinking of Lissa, I felt a twinge of guilt- it had taken her a full month of convincing me she would be fine before I finally decided to take this break, but it didn't mean that I was happy about leaving her. If even a hair on her head was out of place when I got back, so help me…

Despite my unwillingness to leave, I was ecstatic about visiting Dimitri's family. If it had been for anything else, neither Dimitri nor I would have been willing to leave our charges in the hands of anyone else, but after I threatened to kill Lissa and Christian myself if she so much as _set foot_ outside of court, we had been convinced to trust them for the fortnight.

It had excruciatingly difficult for both of us- our sense of duty was one of our most abided by traits, and after Dimitri's first charge was killed when he was on leave, I couldn't help the sick sense of worry that plagued me since the plane had taken off. My worry was futile, I knew- she was in the most experienced hands of top Guardians at the safest location in the world, but I worried none-the-less- how could I not? I stirred in my seat- what if something happened… how could I live with myself?

"She's fine, stop worrying." Dimitri mumbled into my hair. I huffed, _stupid know-it-all_. Even so, his words calmed me enough to lull me into a light, dreamless sleep.

((((O))))

The hours that passes occurred in a slight haze- the landing of the plane; the trip through the airport where an alchemist awaited to prevent an awkward run in with customs. I couldn't even comprehend the fallout- two persons clad in weapons and silver stakes? I can imagine that wouldn't go down well with the human authorities.

The drive to Baia was tedious- both of us were slightly on edge and impatient, however was made considerably brighter by Dimitri's stop to get me a box of donuts.

"You know I love you right?" I said in between bights of the delicious deep fried dough, though I wasn't sure if I was talking to the man beside me or the donuts. _Oh donuts _I thought blissfully, _you understand me. _We took turns driving, much to Dimitri's dismay, and arrived at his home town, where we stayed at a hotel that night to get ready for tomorrow. I called Lissa to check up on her, to her chagrin- I could practically hear her rolling her eyes over the phone.

"Fine then, maybe I'll just stop caring altogether. Clearly you don't appreciate my love." I pouted, and we chatted for a short time before I was too tired to formulate any sort of decent conversation.

"Tomorrow" I said, turning to Dimitri as I crawled under the sheets. "Tomorrow." He repeated, kissing me on the head.

((((((o))))))

I woke up to the smell of coffee wafting through the small apartment, where Dimitri was pottering in the kitchen with a mug in his hand. I padded barefoot into the kitchen and pulled myself up onto the bench top, where I sat swinging my legs. Dimitri glanced up at me, his lips tugging up on one side into a small smile that caused a tug at my heart.

"Morning my love" he said and handed me a bowl of cereal.

"So… today's the day, huh?" I said with a mouthful of breakfast. My excitement was palpable; I could barely contain myself, and my own enthusiasm was reflected in Dimitri's eyes.

The hours flew by, and it wasn't long before we sat in the car outside Dimitri's childhood home.

All the excitement had led up to this moment, and neither of us could bring ourselves to do much but look at the house from the other side of the road. Painful memories washed over me as I surveyed the house- would they forgive me for leaving the way I had?

A seedling of doubt nestled itself in my stomach as a steeled myself and walked across the road, leaving Dimitri concealed among some still believed that their Dimitri was a Strigoi, and I didn't want to give poor Olena a heart attack by showing up at her doorstep with what she believed to be her undead son. I had to talk to them, explain the miracle that had occurred at the hands of my best friend and I.

With a deep breath, I hardened my resolve and knocked on the door. Waiting was agony, and my tension increased as the seconds ticked by. Footsteps resounded through the house and I held my breath in anticipation. The door swung open to reveal Viktoria- she had changed since I had last seen her- her cheekbones were sharper, her hair cut short, but it was unmistakeably her.

We stood staring at each other, and I waited with bated breath for her reaction- we hadn't exactly left things on a pleasant note, and I could just see her slamming the door on my face and telling me to get the hell out.

Despite my qualms, I stood there watching her, and all she did was stare back with wide eyes, before finally shrieking "Rose!" and throwing her arms around my neck. _Thank god_ I thought with relief as I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her neck, giving a strangled sound as I choked back my sob.I pulled back and looked at her face- a face for a while I thought I would never get to see again.

"You're taller, and your _hair!" _I laughed, which came out as more of a sob than anything else. She stuck her head inside, "Mama!" she called, before turning back to me, "Rose, I'm so sorry, you have to know I never meant those things that-" I cut her off with a shake of my head and pulled her into another tight hug.

"It's okay, I know." I said, squeezing her as hard as I could, "I've missed you all so much." I choked out, still crushing her in a bear hug.

"Can't…breathe…" She managed, before being rescued by her mother, who came bustling to the doorway to see what all the fuss was about.

"What on earth is- ROSE!" she cried, letting of a string of rapid Russian as her hand flew to her mouth. I offered her a tentative smile, which quickly broke out into a grin as she barrelled into me, wrapping me in a tight embrace that rivalled my own. As everyone crowded to the door to see what the commotion was about, I could barely hold back my tears as I was reunited with the rest of the family. The only one who didn't seem surprised to see me was Yeva, Dimitri's grandmother, who cast me a look with narrowed eyes before flitting suspiciously to the place where Dimitri stood concealed. I knew he would be watching, and I glanced over my shoulder at the place where he was standing before being dragged into the kitchen and fussed over by Olena in a familiar motherly fashion.

Once everyone settled down enough to actually make coherent sentences, Viktoria turned to me, still sniffling.

"So what brings you back to Baia… I didn't think you were coming back." she said uncertainly. I nodded and cast my eyes downward. "Honestly, neither did I," I started, which was met with a disapproving grunt from Yeva. "But something happened recently, something… big." Eyes around the room began to turn wary and Yeva's narrowed in suspicion.

"No, no, don't worry, nothing like that. Really, it's a miracle. I…" I was rambling, stumbling for words, but couldn't formulate a coherent thought- I needed to ease them into this, somehow, but I wasn't sure what the best way to approach it was and I huffed in frustration.

"Just start from the beginning, dear." Olena coaxed gently. All eyes were on me now, and with a deep breath, I started to explain a phenomenon that had occurred over the last 12 months.

"So what you're saying is... there is a way we can save Dimka?" Viktoria started slowly, her eyes shining with new found hope.

"No-"The pairs of eyes around me visibly dimmed and I stiffened, my sentence cut off by the sound of a scuffle outside, and I sprinted for the door as I heard gruff shouting. I was closely followed by Viktoria as I burst through the front door and frantically searched for him or any signs of conflict- without my shadow kissed strigoi alarm, I had only my own senses to rely on.

I halted when I took in the scene before me however, and Viktoria's bewildered voice came from behind me.

"Nikolai?! What are you…" she trailed off in confusion as she began to recognise the face of the man that Nikolai had defenceless against the tip of his stake. Dimitri had in hands in held up in surrender, and I knew he would sooner get staked than hurt this boy, who was only trying to protect Dimitri's family. Acting on Nikolai's confusion I pushed him out the way and placed myself between him and Dimitri, who placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Strigoi," Nikolai spat- "that's your brother- or a _thing _that used to be your brother. He was lurking in the bushes". he said, turning to Viktoria, whose stare was fixed on Dimitri in horror. They were all too far away to see the light and warmth in his eyes, too stunned to see anything other than the ghost of their family member.

I cursed at the rapid turn of events- how the hell had this situation gotten out of hand so quickly?! Well, things had just gotten a whole lot more difficult.

((((o)))))

Everyone around me stood frozen- if it had been any other situation it would have been comical with everyone standing with their eyes fixed on Dimitri, or more so, my protective stance in front of him, but the tension radiating off of the people in front of me filled the air like a thick smog.

"Please… guys, before you do _anything, _just hear me out, okay?" I said, glancing between the identical looks of horror reflected on each and every one of the Belikov's faces.

"The miracle I was telling you about, remember?" I spoke gently, like one would to a timid animal they were trying to coax out of hiding.

"When I left Baia, I found Dimitri- it was what I came here for, and I did find him- or rather, he found me…" I said, my eyebrows pulling together at the memory.

"I originally had intended to… free him- we'd made a promise. But then, I started picking up on leads, whispers of a cure and I followed the trail before figuring it out- it was Lissa who actually put it into action. You see, Dimitri's just as Dhampir as I am- just look, please." I whispered- I wanted desperately, for his sake, for them to give him a chance. He was so vulnerable, and I felt him start to slump in defeat behind me when Yeva approached, waving off the cries of warning emanating from her family.

She pushed me out of the way dismissively, which made me role my eyes, (some things hadn't changed) before hovering in front of her grandson, peering up at him and searching his face. Everyone held their breath as she reached up to touch his cheek, breaking out into a smile. "Dobro pozhalovat'" she said. _Welcome back._

**Thanks for Reading, Please Review**

_xox _


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for your reviews everyone! I apologise if you think it's slightly mushy but if I'm going to be soppy then there's no time like the present!**

I let out a shaky breath that I had been holding onto, and at that moment I swear I could have kissed Yeva right on her toothy, wrinkly mouth. The light that had been rapidly fading in Dimitri's eyes quickly rekindled at the sight of his Grandmother's acceptance, and he wrapped her in a huge hug, lifting her small feet of the ground.

"Put me down!." She demanded, batting him over the head, and with a laugh on Dimitri's part she was put back safely on her feet, but not before he swung her around in a circle. My eyes began to prickle, and I desperately held back my tears.

_Don't cry, Don't cry, Don't cry. _My resolve started to crumble, however, when Yeva approached me and patted my arm lightly with a nod in my direction. It was the closest thing to approval that she'd ever shown me and I broke out into a smile and turned to the rest of the family. The looks of horror on their faces had dissolved into shock and confusion, as well as an underlying glimmer of hope.

"So it's true, then?" Olena whispered. "You're not… you're Dhampir?" Her eyes were locked on her only son, her eyes searching his face for any sign of the boy she had raised. He nodded, glancing at me.

"Yes- Rose saved me- in more ways than one." He smiled at me tenderly, and any remaining strength broke down and I lost control of the tears I'd held back. They spilled onto my cheeks and I coughed out a laugh. _Get it together you wimp, _I scolded myself, as Olena approached Dimitri. He stood stock still as she reached out and lightly brushed her finger tips under his chin, inspecting his face intently.

"Oh…" she breathed, before launching herself into his arms, both of them mumbling Russian under their breath as they embraced.

It was rare that Dimitri let down his guard enough to have his emotions displayed plainly on his face, but his face showed raw joy as the rest of the family broke out of their comatose state and ran to crowd around their lost family member. I met Dimitri's eyes and his smile grew wider.

_I Love You, _he mouthed and I grinned back. Olena followed his gaze, and seemed to remember that I was there. She disentangled herself from the blubbering mess of family and she pulled me into a tight hug- by now everyone was wailing and I made no effort to supress the steady flow of tears that ran down my face and dripped off of my chin.

"My son… you brought back my son… Thankyou…for saving him." she sobbed into my shoulder gulping in breaths as she blubbered.

"No," I coughed, shaking my head, "We saved each other." I met his eyes over the top of his mother's head and sniffled. Who was I kidding- there was no stopping the full-fledged crying fit. The air was thick with all the female emotions that I was almost suffocating on the atmosphere, and I glanced over at Nikolai, who was shuffling uncomfortably on his feet. I watched in astonishment as Viktoria approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, drying her tears on his shirt. _Finally, I _thought. _She's seen some sense. _

When the tears stopped flowing, the family dragged Dimitri and I by our hands into the house, where Olena began to prepare enough food to feed a family for a week. We sat at the dining table, and I held Dimitri's hand. I took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

"Phew… That was rough. Enough of an emotional Roller coaster to last me the rest of my life." I said, wiping the leftover tears away from my face. He nodded back, his eyes wide.

"I'm so glad we came, told them in person, Roza. Thankyou." He said, but before I could reply his eyes travelled to something over my shoulder and I turned to see Mark and Oksana, who had just arrived. Olena had invited for them for dinner as they were the only couple who knew that Dimitri had become a strigoi rather than been killed in battle, which is what the majority of the town had been told. T

hey were also familiar with the spirit phenomenon and wouldn't react to Dimitri by putting a stake through his heart like Nikolai had tried to do. It was expected that Olena wished to celebrate with others- it was how these families functioned. They shared their joy and their spread the weight of their burdens, and so neither Dimitri nor I minded the additional company. We were too wrapped up in our own bliss to give much thought to who we were sharing it with. Once introductions were made between the bonded pair and Dimitri, we sat as they drilled us with questions about how we had performed such a miracle.

"A charmed stake- I never would have thought…" Oksana breathed. Mark looked at me in wonder, "Only you, Rose. I can't believe you actually did it. I mean, we all told you it was crazy. That took a lot of courage." He told me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Well, I had a lot of motivation." I said, looking at Dimitri. "That and I'm just too stubborn to quit- hey comrade?" They both laughed as they walked off to find Yeva, and Dimitri gave me a wide smile that would have made my knees go weak had I been standing up.

"Errm… excuse me, Dimi- Mr. Belikov?" a gruff voice said from behind us. I turned to look a Nikolai who stood shifting his weight from foot to foot, obviously nervous, but he looked Dimitri solidly in the eye- I admired him. It took a lot of courage to question, never mind try to attack, someone as intimidating as Dimitri, and Nikolai had done so trying to protect the Belikovs.

"I'm sorry for, ah, trying to attack you…" he stumbled on his words, before offering up a sheepish smile. Dimitri shook is head at him "No, Thankyou for trying to protect my family- really." He replied. I looked at Nikolai and added "and well done for catching him off guard- not much can do that, believe me." He swelled under the praise in both of our eyes, and broke out into a crooked grin.

"It's good to see you again, Rose." He said before backing away to find Viktoria, leaving Dimitri and I standing alone for the first time since we'd come to the Belikov's. "Aww," I sighed. "I want one." Looking after Nikolai as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. Dimitri cleared his throat and looked at me with one eyebrow lifted.

"You've got one." He said pulling me closer.

"Oh yeah, that's right." I teased, sighing dramatically. "I suppose you'll do." We bantered back and forth for a few minutes before he was pulled away by Karolina to meet Sonya's baby boy, and I was about to follow when my path was blocked by a smug looking Yeva.

"I told you so." was all she said before sauntering off leaving me with my mouth agape as I stared after her.

I sputtered, "You said no such-" but I was silenced by a look from Viktoria that said _Don't even bother- it's not worth it. _With a sigh, I followed the hallway that lead to where Dimitri had been dragged and stopped dead in my tracks at the scene in front of me.

Dimitri stood pacing lightly, cradling in his arms a baby that gargled happily at his cooing. A small fist protruded from a bundle of blankets and grabbed onto his face, tugging lightly at his bottom lip and causing them both to smile.

BAM. Well, there goes my ovaries. I'm not exactly a maternal person- I'd never really liked kids much, but seeing him fussing over a tiny Dhampir tenderly was a little too much for my Feminine side to bear.

I watched him sadly as he looked at the baby in wonder. That was something I would never be able to give him- the only family he would get with me was what stood in front of him, and I just hoped it would be enough.

As if sensing my thoughts, he looked up and met my eyes with his own, and his eye brows pulled together in concern at my wilted expression. He watched me for a second, still lightly bouncing the baby in his arms, before his eyes lit with comprehension.

"I don't need this, Rose. You're enough of a handful on your own, for any guy." He said, his lips pulling up on one side.

"Plus, I'm not naïve- what would we do with a baby? I love you, and that's enough" He said simply. When I still didn't look convinced, he sighed and walked over to me, fixing his eyes on my own.

"Rose," he said sternly. "You have given me _everything. _A reason to live- something to fight for. That's more than I would ever ask of anyone, but you did it anyway. Do you begrudge me for not being able to get you pregnant?" He demanded, waiting for an answer.

"No, but-" I started, but he cut me off. "Exactly, so stop looking at me like I'm a kicked puppy." We stared each other down for a few more second before I caved.

"Fine." I grumbled, standing up on my toes and brushing my lips against his cheek, being careful not to squash the baby that was drifting off between us.

"Thankyou," I whispered, leaning my head against Dimitri's shoulder. "He's pretty cute though, hey? What's his name?" I said, looking down on his sleeping form.

"Vitaly," was all he replied, resting his head against my own. It was true- the baby was gorgeous. He had long, dark eyelashes that rested against his chubby cheeks, and a soft wisp of hair lightly touched his forehead. I don't know how long we stood like that, watching the new life that breathed steadily in Dimitri's arms, but I found a lot of peace as he rocked the baby into a gentle sleep.

**Thanks for reading! Please Review if you enjoyed it- let me know if you want another chapter and I'll start to introduce some added drama. If you have any requests as to where I could take this story feel free to say so :) **

**xo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- Baia**

**A/n: For those of you who were wondering, the Baby's name is Vitaly (pronounced Vi- taar-lee). I hadn't come up with a name yet but there it is- I went back to fix that in the chapter before. ****  
**

**So thankyou for your support- if you've made it to chapter three then you mustn't despise my story- please review, they will inspire me to write more, if that's what you want. **

I'm fairly sure, now, that Olena was on a mission to fatten Dimitri and I up before we leave- it's the only logical explanation for the copious amounts of food she insisted on preparing. This morning was no exception, and I didn't understand how we would succeed in eating the piles upon piles of food, but once again, we managed to consume it all with minimal leftovers.

We had only a week left of our stay, and as much as I wanted to spend all my time at the house, I was determined to cram some sort of sight-seeing into the week that was left. My first visit here had been spoiled by the taint of loss, and I was unable to really appreciate the true beauty of the country- this time, with Dimitri at my side, I was determined to remedy that.

I wanted to avoid Novosibirsk- there were too many painful memories there, but had decided that the rest of the country was there to be explored at our discretion. Dimitri, on the other hand, took a lot more convincing to leave the sanctuary of his childhood home. If I had let him, I think he would have been content to just sit in the house watching his family until he turned to dust. However, as his girlfriend, I felt legally obliged to make sure he _didn't _do that, and managed to drag him outside to do some sort of recreational activity.

Dimitri had once told me about some springs he used to visit, and I had a craving to visit them- to get a glimpse into the past that Dimitri had once had. Teaming together with Viktoria, we managed to pump some enthusiasm into Dimitri and Nikolai.

"But Rose, it'll be _freezing." _Nikolai whined. "It's not that cold!" I replied.

"You won't even notice" Viktoria agreed, frantically grabbing last minute things to stuff into the picnic basket already teeming with food. Viktoria had explained that it was about a 20 minute walk, so I wanted to leave as soon as possible to maximise the amount of time we could spend there. I was dressed in a light shirt and shorts- the air was cool but I knew hiking would be strenuous enough to keep me warm. I had my hair in two braids, the cutesy look contrasting sharply with the silver stake hanging out of my pocket- couldn't be too careful, I supposed, but carrying it was more habitual than genuine worry.

We set off, and I found myself really enjoying the invigorating hike- it had been a while since I'd been able to enjoy some genuine outdoor activities- life at court lead to neglect of that aspect of my life. My blood was pumping by the end of the trek, and the cool water held a refreshing respite to the heat radiating off of my skin. That was, at least, until I felt the temperature of the water. With a quick intake of breath, I yanked my foot back away from the water, earning myself a pointed look from Nikolai. I steeled myself- no way was I coming all this way and NOT getting in the water. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and took the plunge, jumping into the icy water.

_I immediately regret this decision, _I thought as I came into contact with the water. Damn it was cold! I flailed in the water for a second before my feet touched the bottom, and I used it as a grounding point to launch myself back up to the surface. I took a gulp of air as I spluttered.

"Holy _shit!" _I coughed, shaking my head and wiping away the droplets of water that clung to my eyelashes in beads.

"Wait- you mean the water is cold?!" I heard Nikolai comment sarcastically. I pretended not to hear the mocking tone in his voice as I carefully considered my words.

"It's… refreshing." I said slowly, earning myself a scoff from Dimitri. I beckoned him towards me.

"Care to join?" I purred, trying not to let my teeth chatter from the cold water. He raised his eyebrows scornfully.

"Ahh no, I think I'd rather keep possession of my toes, thanks. And don't look at me like that- it's called having common sense- you should try it some time." He said with smirk- a _smirk! _Little shit.

"Oh yeah? It's called being single! You should try it sometime" I taunted back, echoing his tone.

"C'mon Comrade! Live a little." I exclaimed, sloshing about in the water.

"Don't be such a wimp!" That hit the mark- he narrowed his eyes and I grinned triumphantly, which went slightly slack as he yanked his T-shirt over his head. Da-yum. What? I was only human. Well, more-or-less.

I scrambled frantically backwards as he sprinted over to where I was treading water, but my vain attempt at escaping the bombardment of water heading my way was thwarted by my cold, jerky limbs and their inability to react fast enough.

I cursed myself- how did I not see this coming? Viktoria shrieked as she was splattered with cold water, spoiling her flirting session with Nikolai. _Convenient, _thought, and as I glanced at Dimitri, he was also watching his sister. When he noticed me eyeing him suspiciously, he winked before disappearing below the inky surface of the dark water.

"Oh no." I said, "No no no…" I started frantically kicking and paddling away, desperately trying to reach the bank- I was almost there- my fingertips caressed the rocks that promised warmth and safety before I felt a pair of long fingers clasp around my calf muscle.

"Oh shit." was all I had time to mutter before I was yanked back into the freezing depths.

(((((((o)))))))

We spent the rest of the day exchanging playful banter between the four of us, and I found myself having the time of my life. I lay stretched out next to Viktoria with my head in Dimitri's lap, the four of us where basking in a little patch of sunlight that illuminated a clearing of rock, our stomachs full of Olena's delectable cooking. We must have looked like a group of coldblooded reptiles, trying to get warm- I imagine Sydney would have agreed with me if she were here. Ha.

Sighing contently, I closed my eyes and dosed- existing in a semi-conscious haze. I felt Dimitri tugging lightly at the hair ties holding in my pig-tails, and a smile pulled at my lips as I reached up and freed them from their braids, running my hands through my newly loose hair.

"Better?" I asked with my eyes still closed, but that didn't stop me from hearing the smile in his voice when he replied.

"Better." I opened my eyes and can safely say I was not disappointed- I had to mind myself carefully to make sure I wasn't drooling. The combination of him playing with my hair and his smile was I little bit of a sensory overload to say the least.

"_Nothing _feels better than someone playing with your hair." I sighed, looking up at him. He raised an eyebrow at me and I smirked.

"Well, almost nothing." His eyes widened at the insinuation, and Viktoria shrieked.

"Rose! Thanks for that." she said, mashing the palm of her hand into her forehead trying to banish whatever mental image had just popped into it. Dimitri sat looking extremely uncomfortable, and I stifled a laugh with my hand.

"We should probably get going" he said, looking up at the sky. Much to my dismay, the sun was preparing itself to set over the horizon, and we'd promised Olena we'd be back before dinner. Viktoria and Nikolai both made sounds of protest, but none of us wanted to be caught out here after dark. We packed up our gear within a matter of minutes and began the hike back.

"We can come back though, right?" Viktoria inquired hopefully, "I mean you have a whole week left." I looked at Dimitri- leaving was going to be tough. "Yeah. We can come back." I said, hoping he picked up on my double meaning. I stopped in my tracks and put my hands in my pocket. Shit. Dimitri immediately stopped to look at me, his eyes searching mine in confusion.

"Where's my phone?" I asked, searching through the basket and frantically shaking out towels.

"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when you had your clothes on the floor?" Nikolai suggested.

"Damn," I cursed, turning back around- It was my only way of contacting Lissa so I had to go back for it. We were only 5 minutes into the walk so it wasn't a big deal.

"I'll come with you." Dimitri said, moving to follow me, but paused when I waved him off.

"No, its fine- you guys go ahead, I'll catch up." I said, embarrassed- stupid of me, really. He shook his head.

"We're waiting here." His tone was final, so I gave up and started trekking my way back to the springs.

"Roza!" he called, tossing me a silver object. When I grabbed it I saw what it was and looked up with a smile- a silver stake. He just couldn't help himself.

The sun was sluggishly disappearing, so I jogged back to the springs, and sure enough my phone was resting innocently by the bank of the water. I huffed in relief, snatching it up before I could be careless enough to lose it again. Not wanting to hold everyone up any longer, I spun on my heals and started walking back to the dirt path when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I sighed, turning to the source of the shadow.

"I told you I was fine Comrade- have a little faith." When he didn't respond, I grew wary and reached for the stake at the belt loop of my shorts and pulled it out.

"Comrade?" I said, though I knew I was holding onto false hope of it being him, I had little other choice. Running would leave me vulnerable and exposed, so I stood my ground and waited for whatever 'it' was to make the first move. A twig snapped and I hissed, my entire body tensing and my senses on high alert. My eyes darted back and forth, skimming the area for the source of the sound.

I immediately relaxed with a laugh when a timid brown figure emerged from the foliage. Fucking deer. Putting away my stake, I let out the breath I'd been holding and quickly turned to get back to the others- the last rays of sunlight had disappeared, leaving the sky in a hazy dusk. As I turned, I smashed face first into a solid wall, but when I tried to blindly back away from the source I found my wrists pinned to my sides, a barrier was wrapped solidly around my waist.

"Not so fast, Sweet Dhampir. Why don't you hang around with me for a little while, hmm?" I voice hissed in my ear, making my heart stop and my blood run cold. I kicked out with my legs with a scream, my arms rendered uselessly at my sides. My screams were cut short by a freezing cold hand clamped over my mouth, fingernails digging ruthlessly into the side of my face.

"Shhhhh, shhh, shhhh," He chuckled. "Let's not be difficult now." I stopped struggling as the harsh reality sunk in: I was trapped.

**So… PLOT TWIST!? So I was feeling a little wicked, and I'm really enjoying the world of Dimitri and Rose. That's as much of an explanation for the abrupt plot twist as I can come up with. Teehee. I hope with doesn't deter you guys from reading, but I felt like if I was going to make this a long, actual story then I would need some additional zest. Tell me what you think of the new plot!**

**(((((O)))))**

**OH MY GOD okay so some of the reviews I've been getting you have absolutely the wrong idea! I'm not offended don't worry- reviews don't offend me, I'm just worried that you've been upset by what you thought was going to happen. _Rose is not going to get raped. _Just making sure you guys know that. I wouldn't want to write about something as sick as that, so all of my stories are rape free. I'm sorry if I gave that impression. xox**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n: Hello beautiful readers! **

**So first up I apologise for the misunderstanding and can see how you might have come to that conclusion, but don't worry, as I said at the bottom of the last chapter I wouldn't want for the characters we know and love have to go through that. **

**So here it is, the next chapter. This one is written in the perspective of Dimitri just for something different. From here on I'll be alternating between the two of them. **

**Please enjoy **

**Xxoo**

"She should be back by now," I growled, rapidly pacing back and forth with impatience. Viktoria looked at me like I'd grown a second head, edged with an inkling of concern.

"Dimka, you're going to end up wearing a hole in the ground if you don't stop pacing- She's only been gone a few minutes." She reminded me gently. I paused, her words made perfect sense, but I couldn't supress the sense of worry blooming in my chest- something didn't feel… right.

I huffed in indecision- leave the two of them undefended and check on rose, or stay and trust Rose to take care of herself? I resumed my pacing, coming close to tearing my hair out when Nikolai spoke up.

"Why don't you go and check on her, and I'll make sure Vika gets back safe?" he offered. His comment earned him a look of scorn from Viktoria, but tipped the balance in favour of finding Rose. I gratefully nodded in his direction, pressing a stake into his hand and taking the last one for myself.

"Straight home." I said, looking at them both with as much authority as I could muster. They both nodded vigorously and started walking off in the direction of home, bickering about who would actually be protecting who, but I took little notice and started walking briskly back to the springs. I was relieved to be able to actually _do something _about the sick sense of uneasiness that rolled around my head.

_Maybe she got lost, _I thought weakly, but I knew the chances of that were slim. I was so on edge I didn't see the deer until it was about 10 metres away, chewing innocently on the wildflowers poking through the fallen foliage. I watched it for a moment, its presence had an almost calming effect on me. Rose would be fine, I was being ridiculous.

And then I heard screaming.

I took off in the direction of her screams- it wasn't far, just a minute's walk, but I swear then that it was the longest distance I've ever had to cover. The ground seemed to stretch out endlessly before me, and I pushed myself to get to her in the slightest time possible, pushing down the rising surge of panic clouding my mind. Her screaming grew louder as I neared the clearing- it wasn't a high pitched, blood curdling scream as I'd first thought, but a lower, more animalistic yelling; the sound she made when she was helpless and had little to do about it.

The sound cut off abruptly and I nearly threw up just thinking about it, but I pushed harder, my legs pounding against the forest floor. Just a few more steps…3…2…1- I burst into the clearing and skidded to a halt- she was alive. I let out my breath and nearly wept with relief, that was, until I saw the manic face of the man behind her. I took in the pale skin, the iron grip rendering Rose incapacitated, the malicious smile twisting at his marble lips, and finally meeting his eyes, knowing I would find the red rings of a Strigoi. "Rose…" I let out a strangled call, before masking my features with the face of a stone cold guardian.

I'd been rash, stupid- in my haste to get to her I hadn't considered the consequences of bursting into the situation like I had- I would be no use to her dead. I cursed myself inwardly, but put aside my self-chastisement for later- I needed to focus.

I took in the situation, my eyes drinking up the exact details of the scene before me. The way she was standing, the position of his arms, his poised teeth, ready to strike. My eyes met hers and I watched as a range of emotions played across her face. The most obvious one, of course, was the wild glint that made her eyes shine in bloodlust fury, but underneath that fighting instinct she waged an internal battle. Shock, panic, regret, relief, love, her eyes shuffled through them all before settling on determined resignation.

All this happened within a matter of seconds, and as I glanced back up to the face of the Strigoi holding her captive, I saw his faced had transformed from one of smug malice to looking like he'd just found a golden nugget. "Rose?" he breathed. "Why, it couldn't be… Rose Hathaway?" he scrutinised my face and glanced back at Rose, then began to laugh, his eyes twinkling with cold malice. He kept one arm still wrapped around her torso, but was bent over laughing humourlessly- the grin plastered across his face didn't reach his eyes, which remained cold and calculating.

Rose, who had been sitting, biding her time, took advantage of the distraction and bucked her body in attempt to loosen the tight grip of his arms. His face transformed from cruel amusement into blind anger in a heartbeat, and with a snarl of rage he tensed his arms, squeezing her body in a brace tight enough that it threatened to break bones. She stilled in his arms with a wheeze, her breath being forced out of her body by the intense pressure. All the while I stood helpless, watching from the sidelines- running up to her would achieve nothing more than getting her killed, so I stood tensed and ready to be there for her if she needed me to be. It was infuriating.

"Well well, _Rose Hathaway, _I can't believe my luck. I was simply here for a Dhampir lunch and I've found myself the catch of the decade. You've worked up quite a reputation here in Russia, you know?" He sneered, his arms still holding her in a bone crushing grip.

"Although, I have to say I'm quite disappointed- I thought the infamous Hathaway would put up a better fight, but no matter. I suppose with calls for a bit of fun then, doesn't it. But who is this? " he asked her, glancing at me. He spun her around, and before she had time to react was holding her arms at her sides again, except now she was facing him, his nose barely inches away from hers.

"Who's your boyfriend, Rose?" he jeered in a whisper. She looked up at him with cold determination mixed with revulsion, opened her mouth and spat in his face.

Big Mistake. I knew it, she knew it, but there was no stopping it now- he wrapped his fingers around her neck and lifter her up, her legs kicked out helplessly beneath her. She squeezed her eyes shut and I saw her hand inching its way to her belt loop, where her stake hung precariously. Unfortunately, so did he and he swatted it out of her pants, hissing in agony as the charmed silver burned his skin. If there was any time to make a move, now would be it, so I lunged forward with my stake poised in front of me but he anticipated my move, and instead of going for the attack like I had expected, he darted backwards and out of reach, still holding up a flailing Rose who was rapidly losing consciousness.

"Go..." she gasped, choking on her words before blacking out completely and going limp.

"Finally!" he said, letting her fall to the floor in a heap on the bank of the springs and prodding her with his toe. Only the slight movement of her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths told me she was even alive at all.

I steeled myself and crouched in a fighting stance as he approached me, dragging my eyes away from a fallen Rose, who was slipping dangerously close to the edge of the water. I surged forward, hoping to catch him off guard and swung my stake at his face, he turned at the last second, so the metal point only grazed his cheek. He roared in pain and backhanded me, throwing me back onto the rocks causing a searing pain to shoot up my back. Recovering quickly, I tackled his approaching form to the floor, where we grappled as I tried to find an opening to his chest- I was going to win, and he was going to die; I could see the fear in his eyes as I let out the menacing fury that always laid dormant, buried deep within.

There- my opening- I set on my target, the stake poised ready to deliver the killing blow when I heard a splash, breaking my rock solid focus. My head snapped up in time to see Rose's unconscious form slipping beneath the water. Taking advantage of my distraction, the strigoi rolled us over, knocking the stake out of my hands and using his weight to pin me down.

"I think we'll leave you alive," he whispered menacingly, his face barely inches from my own.

"Let you live with this- knowing you couldn't save her. Not knowing if she's dead or alive… or something else entirely, because _you _weren't strong enough to keep her safe_." _He spat, then grabbed my head and smashed it backwards onto the rocks underneath me, making my head swim and my vision blur. He repeated the action until the last thread of awareness I was desperately clinging to snapped, plunging me into an abyss of black. _Roza…_

**Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I don't like to make my chapters too long winded because then it takes too long to update. As always, please review.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**xxoo**


	5. Chapter 4, Part 2

**Wow, I wasn't expecting so many reviews so quickly! I understand some of you are a little confused, and I'm sorry about that. I have the story all in my head and forget little bits sometimes. So here is a little excerpt about what happens while both Dimitri and Rose are unconscious- I'm going to slot this is in after Dimitri is knocked out, it will be chapter 4.5. It will be the one and only Strigoi POV. **

I looked down at the unconscious form of a man at my feet, who lay in a pool of his own blood. _Such a waste, _I thought wistfully. As much as I despised letting a perfectly good meal left un-devoured, I needed him alive- and yes, he would live, albeit barely.

Eyeing the water distastefully, I approached the bank and watched the ripples of the disturbed water expand and lap gently against the edge. Sighing in defeat, I surged forward and landed in the water, wading through until I dove under to reach for the blacked-out guardian. I grasped her firmly around the torso and pulled us both up- I needed her alive, wanted them both alive. We broke the surface of the water, and I noticed with monotony each perfectly spherical droplet and the way the light of the rising moon glinted off its surface with amazing clarity. How dull.

She had barely been in the water for a few seconds, so when we broke the surface she only spluttered for only a moment before returning to her relaxed state of oblivion. My eyes roamed her face, her body. I suppose she could have been considered beautiful- she was certainly appealing. I couldn't believe my impeccable timing- to be the one in control of _Rose Hathaway, _the most feared Dhampir in Russia, I would hold an inconceivable amount of power. It would be glorious. Throwing her over my shoulder, I glanced back at the near-dead form of her name-less lover. But first, I wanted to have a little fun. I felt a greedy venomous smile pulling at my lips, and I whispered in a voice barely audible, "Let the games begin, Rose Hathaway."

**So there you go- both alive!**

**Hope this clears things up **

**xo**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Baia

**A/n: **

**So here it is, the next chapter! I've gone back and forth between choosing Rose and Dimitri for this chapter, and finally settled on Rose. Thank you all for your support it is greatly appreciated- I'm really glad to see that I've got some people emotionally invested in my story. **

**Xo**

_I was moving through the forest, the trees whispering their ominous damnations as I pushed my way through the foliage. Something was wrong, so sickeningly wrong, and I could feel the rising sense of urgency tugging me forward, pushing me harder and faster until I broke out into a clearing, gasping for breath and verging on panic. _

_My eyes widened as I took in the scene before me: the people I loved most stood facing me, tracks of tears staining their faces as they watched me. Each of them teetered on the precipice of a cliff, their weight threatening to plunge them over the edge and into an abyss. The wind howled, whipping my hair around my face and I noticed that they weren't just those I loved, but those I had hurt. Apprehensively, I opened my mouth to cry out to them- didn't they see how close they were to tumbling over the edge? _

_My warnings were cut off by movement to my left, and I watched as Viktor Dashkov lent backwards, towards the pit. _

_"How could you, Rose?" he whispered numbly as he fell backwards, disappearing over the edge. I screamed, watching motionless as each and every person tumbled over the edge of the cliff: Jill, Christian, Sydney, Robert, Viktoria, Tasha, until finally only three remained standing, their eyes boring into me with that sad, lonely expression that tore at my heart._

_ "__Please," I begged, my legs still locked firmly in place, "Don't do this." I pleaded as I watched Adrian teeter dangerously on the ledge. _

_"You destroyed me, Rose." he cried out, turning and hurdling off the edge. I screamed to him, sobbing as I stood helpless- I turned to Lissa and stopped breathing. _

_"Lissa, Lissa no, p-please, stay, don't…" I stammered, my breath coming in gasps as I choked on my words, verging on hysterics. Her eyes widened and she started to scream._

_ "Rose!" she called, "Save me, please Rose don't let me fall…" her arms reached out to me, grasping at thin air as she lost her balance and started to fall. _

_"Dimitri!" I called out to where he stood with his back turned, "Save her… do something, PLEASE!" I sobbed, watching as he stood there motionless as Lissa plummeted over the edge, screaming for me as she fell. Finally, Dimitri moved, turning slowly around, his eyes closed and his hands in fists by his sides. _

_"Dimitri…" I whispered, my voice hoarse from my screaming. The invisible binding holding me in place fell away, and I stumbled over to where he stood. Reaching up, I touched my fingertips to his cheek and watched as his eyes fluttered open, my breath hitching at what they revealed. Red; deep, soulless red. His face split into a menacing smile and he cocked his head to the side, a dark piece of hair falling across his face. _

_"Wake up, Rose." He purred, then lunged toward me, wrapping his hands around my neck._

I gasped, jerking awake. My foggy senses slowly took in my surroundings as I gained consciousness and shook off the lingering tendrils of my nightmare. The first thing I was aware of was how uncomfortable I was- sore all over; freezing cold; jammed into a cramped space; stiff and aching limbs- my groggy mind blended it all into one overpowering sense of discomposure.

Gradually, I began to be able to feel individual aspects, which I can safely say was not much better- my throat hurt like _hell_ and breathing was problematic, just to name a few. I sat motionless while my eyes adjusted to the dark, dank atmosphere, my breath coming out in little puffs of white.

_Where the hell am I? _I thought with rising panic as I frantically searched back through my memory, desperately trying to retrace my thoughts back to the moment I'd fallen unconscious. My phone- I'd lost my phone and gone back for it… then…what? I shook my head, frustrated by the befuddled state of my mind.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly and tried to clear my mind and presented myself with the most obvious questions. What happened? I'd come back to that. Where am I? Not a goddamn clue- all I was aware of was the damp, stale taste to the air and the cold, rough texture of the hard floor beneath me. Okay- new method. Resorting back to the way I would compose my thoughts at the academy, I started walking myself through my mind.

_My name is Rose Hathaway; I am 22 years old; I am a promised Guardian; I work as head of the Royal Guard protecting my best friend Lissa Dragomir, who is queen; I live at court, in an apartment with the love of my life, Dimitri Belikov… _Dimitri! Oh no, no no no no, not again, this couldn't be happening. I reached up to rub my temples, but froze when I heard high pitched scraping of metal, I sat stock still and not daring to even breath, listening intently. Hesitantly, I gave a slight tug of my wrist and again the silence was broken by the grate of metal.

I swore, pulling violently at the chains binding my wrists to no avail. They rendered me debilitated- I could barely even touch my hands together because of the position of the bindings. Stretching out as much as I could in the awkward position, I bent and stretched my stiff limbs, hearing them pop and crack aggressively, which made me wonder how long I'd been laying in this hell hole.

With my eyes fairly adjusted, I analysed the space around me. There were no lights, no windows or and no doors- how the hell did I get in here? My eyes swept the ceiling, the walls and roof- It was like I was in a damp, concrete box- one that was equipped with its own set of chains. Fan-fucking- tastic. There were a set of rungs fixed to the far wall, leading to what I suspected must have been some sort of trap door.

My suspicions were confirmed when I spotted a pair of what looked like hinges attached to the roof. Sighing, I turned my thoughts back internally, trying once again to sort through my own jumble of thoughts while trying to desperately scrape up some sort of escape plan. Even I could admit the situation was looking pretty dire, but I suppose it wasn't something I'd never experienced before… I repressed that thought with a shudder.

I tugged on my chains again- the thick metal chains were fixed deep within the concrete walls, and while I was strong for my size, I wasn't _that _strong, so breaking them was off the table. And even if I _could _by some miracle get them off, the trapdoor itself had nothing to open it by, so I suspected it must be bolted from the outside or something along those lines... Huffing in frustration, I set to work on attempting to slip my hands out of their cuffs- maybe then I could at least have the element of surprise when my attacker came down here.

_If they ever come down here, _a cruel voice whispered at the back of my mind, which I pushed aside with panic. The thought of wasting away down here, slowly dying without anyone ever knowing where I was… it was too awful to comprehend. I let my thoughts wander back to finding my phone as I set to work on the deadly-tight metal cuffs, trying to pry my hands through the small unyielding circle.

I remembered the day with Viktoria and Nikolai, the cold water, the playful antics and the exchange of witty quips. Thinking about it brought I sad smile to my lips- it had been among my top 10 favourite days, I think. When we'd gone to leave, I was so disappointed for it to be over, for it all to be over. I was determined to go back, and now… now it seemed unlikely I would ever see daylight again. Then we'd started the hike home, and I'd forgotten my phone- I went back for it… this is where things were slightly foggy and everything seemed to be a blur in my mind's eye.

With a grimace, I added some spit to my wrists, hoping to lubricate the metal slightly- if I was going to get these off, it was going to _hurt. _I recalled the deer, and being grabbed by a strigoi… and then… DIMITRI! I stopped the work on my cuffs- I was getting nowhere- as the images came flooding back, Dimitri had come back for me and, oh _god, _the strigoi knew my name. I had been stupid to think that my little tyrant in Russia during my last visit had no effect on the 'strigoi community.'

I'd told him to leave, to get out of there and as I tried to cling to the hope that maybe he had done as I asked, I knew that there was no way in hell that he would have left. And, well, judging by the fact that I was here, wherever that was, he hadn't been able to take the strigoi down, which meant…

I gnawed in the inside of my mouth out of anxious habit, and concentrated on the cuffs again. My wrists were starting to become raw, so I added some more spit and tried to supress my fear, trying to hold onto hope. I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled firmly against the right cuff, pressing my lips together in pain. I managed to get it part way up my hand when it started to cramp.

_"Motherfu-" _I cut my curse off abruptly when the sound of voices drifted down from above me. I jammed the cuff back down onto my wrist with a scowl and lay back down, pretending to be unconscious, maybe then I could buy myself some time. The sliding grind of a bolt- I couldn't resist a small surge of triumph that flared underneath my fear, I knew it- resounded through my tiny cell and the trap door swung open, filling the stark concrete room with artificial light that shone on the back of my eyelids. I worked to keep my breathing even as I heard approaching footsteps.

_Don't twitch, Rose, _I reminded myself desperately. The steps covered the room quickly, and paused near me. I could hear their light breathing joining my own, filling the portentous silence that consumed the atmosphere. "I know you're awake. Get up." A male voice ordered, heavily accented and tainted with cruelty. When I didn't react, he snorted in disgust. Turning, he kicked me violently in the stomach. My eyes flew open and the air in my lungs whooshed out, leaving me gasping for breath and coughing through the pain that was jabbing into my stomach and rolling its way through my body. I turned my eyes up to him and packed as much hate and disgust into my eyes as possible.

"My my, if looks could kill," he chuckled. "I trust you're comfortable?" he asked, eyeing my blistering wrists with a smirk. _Wow, this guy's a real comedian,_ I thought dryly.

"Now, as delightful as your presence is, I'd like to get down to the real fun- you see, immortality is… tedious, at times." I supressed a roll of my eyes- it was part of protocol to get a long winded speech from strigoi captors. They tended to have a slight dramatic flair and enjoyed flaunting their power over their captives.

"We who have been awakened require a bit of fun here and there to keep us… alive. And what better fun than toying with the lives of guardians, and Rose Hathaway, the notorious torturer-interrogator and strigoi huntress, well…" he smiled darkly and leaning in close, "that's really something."

He reached for me and I recoiled, pushing myself up against the wall with a snarl. He narrowed his eyes and shot his hand out, grabbing a handful of hair and twisting my head sideways. I hissed in pain, which only tempted him to pull harder as he yanked my head forward to reveal the back of my neck. I heard a quick intake of breath and felt an inkling of satisfaction trickle through me.

"Yes- you're a warrior and a half. Not to mention the history… the _reputation!" _he sighed happily. He grabbed my chin roughly and forced me to look at him, and I locked eyes with him defiantly.

"You're going to do everything I ask now, Rose, aren't you?" he asked sweetly. As I realised what he was doing my eyes widened and I tried to break eye contact, but the threads of compulsion had already planted themselves into my mind, holding me in place.

He watched on in amusement as I waged my mental battle, trying to pull away from the compulsion. Trying to process my own thoughts was like wading through honey, and I fought to keep control. He hummed in disapproval as I started to pull away from his compulsion, and he tried again.

"You're under my control now aren't you, Rose?" he said, watching me intently as he spoke in a voice soft as silk. My breath started to come in puffs as I battled against his iron will that threatened to consume my own.

We sat there, eyes locked, battling with our willpowers against each other. He pushed forward in waves- every time I thought I was regaining control, he would add another layer, slowly grinding away my own freedom. This went on for what seemed like an eternity, and when he finally stood up with a defeated sigh, I was about to collapse from exhaustion. My eye-lids drooped and I barely even noticed when he moved closer and lent back down. I was vaguely aware of a hand on the side of my face and I started to drift into a disturbed sleep, but my senses snapped to attention as I felt the sharp jolt of teeth poised deliciously at my neck. I gasped and arched forward without realising what I was doing until it was too late. He clucked disapprovingly at my reaction, pulling his mouth away with a smirk.

"This just keeps getting better and better, Rose." He said with mirth. As he walked away I ground my teeth together in resentment- I was disgusted by my weakness.

I'd let down my guard after the hours of intensive mental exhaustion. Well, that was no longer an issue- I was _very _awake, my body responding on auto-pilot when my mind wasn't fully in control had left my senses zinging in anticipation for the rush of endorphins. I sat brooding in the darkness, waiting for sleep to take me as my will, and my hope, began to disintegrate.

(((((O)))))

We repeated the events of the first day a total of 4 times before I began to lose myself. I lost all concept of time, and eventually lost my will to escape, to live, to be anything but a shell of my former self. It seemed as though I lived in a haze, not entirely out of my body, but certainly not in it either. A woman, someone called Rose, lived in a small compartment in the back of my mind, locked up and screaming to get out, but buried beneath the imposing will of the strigoi that was refreshed each day. I functioned as a mechanical being, eating, sleeping, and breathing, with nowhere to turn but the inner corners of my own mind.

That day, when he climbed down the rungs and approached my desolate form, he barely used any compulsion and I succumbed without resistance. "Rose, tell me the name of your lover, and where can I find him?" he asked in a sugary voice. I hesitated, the last string of myself holding back the words, which rested at the base of my tongue, just waiting for my lips to shape the words. "Tell me." He pressed, his eyes boring into my own like they had for an incomprehensible amount of time.

The string snapped.

My mind spewed the words out to him and I barely even noticed. His eyes glinted as he nodded in approval. "Finally, Rose." He whispered, turning to the metal rungs that lined the walls and began climbing up, but paused and looked over his shoulder at me with a dark smile.

"You're mine, now. Until death do us part, my sweet."

**A/n: So that was wicked intense. ****Sorry if it seems a bit dark, but things with definitely improve in chapters to come, so you needn't worry.**** Yes, I realise Rose's situation is a tad dire, but I have a plan and I swear there will be no more chapters as depressing as this one. Please don't give up on Rose, she needs you guys!**

**I'll admit, writing it was hard. I got a similar feeling to when Rose was being held captive by strigoi Dimitri and I didn't see any hope on the horizon. BUT, I assure you, we are at the bottom of the staircase and things can only go up from here. **

**Okay, so I'll only be posting the next chapter once I get up to 30 reviews.**

**Xox**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/n: So for those of you who are confused, please go back, I have posted a chapter 4.5 in the POV of the strigoi that clears things up a little. It's only short but worth reading, I think. As requested, here is Dimitri's POV. **

**Also, I got a query about why Rose is known among strigoi and not Dimitri. This is the case because while Dimitri is a famous guardian, he didn't go to the efforts that Rose did to get her name out into the strigoi community. Dimitri was a powerful strigoi, and had a lot of influence but not to the extent that he would be well known to all strigoi, like Rose. Thanks for your questions, I love to answer them. **

**Thanks for your support,**

**Xo**

It was warm, hazy, comfortable. I sank into our bed I turned my head slightly, inhaling her soft scent on the sheets. Unconsciously, my arms stretched out to reach for her, to pull her closer to me like I would almost every morning. I was the luckiest man in the world. "Roza…?" I mumbled, keeping my eyes shut but shifting ever so slightly to find her warmth. I heard soothing words faintly, and flinched when something cool dabbed my face. My eyes flew open and I jerked awake, instantly becoming aware of the searing pain on the back of my head. My arm soared up to catch the unfamiliar hand that lingered near my face and held it firmly by the wrist as my eyes came into focus slowly.

"Shhhh… It's okay." A soft voice whispered. "You're okay." I shook my head, puzzled as I tried to sit up, making my head spin violently. I released the hand from my grasp and it pushed me gently back down to the bed, then returned to its insistent dabbing. "What…?" I asked, looking into the concerned face of my mother. I touched the back of my head lightly, recalling slowly how it came to be. I turned to my mother with wide pleading eyes.

"Rose? Where's Rose?" I asked frantically. She appraised me for a second then went to the door, leaning out and quietly calling for someone. I felt a surge of hope, maybe just maybe, Rose was here, safe. I cradled that hope to me as I heard footsteps and watched the door greedily. My seedling of hope was crushed mercilessly when the voices at the door revealed themselves. The air whooshed out of my lungs as I took in Viktoria and Nikolai, who stood in the doorway wracked with nerves and concern. I took a shuddering breath as I watched the three of them, who awaited my reaction with apprehended breath.

"Where. Is. Rose?" I repeated through gritted teeth. I needed to hear it, to have all the facts in front of me in concrete. My mother was the one to respond, and she met my eyes hesitantly to deliver the news that could destroy my world.

"We don't know… we sent out a search party when you didn't come home. They looked everywhere, and… she wasn't there." She whispered, looking away and refusing to meet my eyes, which openly displayed my agony.

"The water? Did you check the water?" I pressed desperately, barely containing my grief. She nodded and finally met my eyes.

"She wasn't there, Dimitri. There were drag marks in the mud and… only one set of footprints." She said solemnly.

I made my decision in a split second, flying off the bed and making a bee-line for the door, ignoring the splitting pain in my head. Nikolai and Viktoria both anticipated my move, and before I'd made it even a few steps they had me pinned down to the bed, and were able to keep me there despite my best efforts and forceful thrashing. With my body in its current state, the two of them barely had to put any weight against my shoulders before I collapsed, gasping.

"Rose… I have to find her… _please." _I begged, but I knew I was no use to her in her current state. Despite this, I knew I had to be doing _something. _A thought occurred to me suddenly and my eyes swivelled to meet my mother's, filled with unshed tears she watched as I caught my breath slowly.

"How long," I asked dejectedly, "have I been unconscious?" The looks on their faces told me all that I needed to know, and my face fell into my palms.

"_She is my everything_." I whispered to myself, but as my mother excused herself sobbing I knew that I hadn't been as quiet as I'd thought. I squeezed my eyes shut and exhaled slowly- I hated causing pain.

Rose was alive. I was sure of that much- the strigoi had made it clear that she was too valuable to him alive. Which meant one of either two things: Rose was being held captive… or Rose was… I couldn't even bare to think it. The thought of what he could be doing to her- hurting her, or… touching her, made me shudder.

My stomach began to turn and I was overcome by a wave of Nausea. I flew off the bed and into the bathroom, where I vomited up the empty contents of my stomach into an unsuspecting toilet bowl. With a grimace, Viktoria handed me the wet towel and I wiped my mouth with it in disgust. I didn't want for her to see me like this, for anyone to see me like this. As Dhampirs, we rarely got sick, but from time to time diseases would infect our kind, or we sustained serious injuries that our bodies had difficulty coping with. Of course alcohol had the same effect- it was a strange feeling to be the one crouched helplessly over the bowl, at the mercy of my own body- that was usually Rose's place, who was far more injury and accident prone than myself. I stood up and washed out my mouth, revolted. Viktoria, the only one remaining, helped me keep steady on my feet as a moved back to the bed, weak and exhausted.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked in frustration.

"Fractured skull." She replied evenly, her mouth pressed into a firm line, delivering the facts straight and without a sugar-coating. I winced as her words sunk in- the recovery time for a fractured skull was a couple of months- there was _no way _I was staying out of action for that long, but what little choice did I have? I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to maintain composure. I opened my eyes and looked at Viktoria, who was hovering near the foot of the bed, chewing worriedly at her thumb nail. She immediately dropped her hand when she caught me watching and cleared her throat.

"What can I do to help, Dimka?" she asked, desperately searching my face. I ran my hand through my hair and nodded, a course of action slowly formulating in my mind. The sheer size of Russia was insurmountable, and I found myself in awe of Rose's ability to find a Strigoi that didn't want to be found- the daunting task that faced her would have been terrifying, seemed impossible, but she hadn't given up. She'd followed the trail of the impossible, and there was no way I would do any less for her.

"I need my phone- it's on top of that vanity." I instructed- we would be expected home in a matter of days, and there was no way I was going back without her. Scrolling through my contacts, I called the head office at court and was greeted by the guardian on reception. It was someone both Rose and I had spoken to on multiple occasions and come to like immensely, and his voice was edged with apprehension when I requested Hans.

"Guardian Belikov," Hans said by way of greeting "I trust you're having a good vacation?" he asked, snickering slightly. I didn't know how I was going to put this, so I cut straight to the chase.

"We're not coming back." I said flatly. There was a silence on the other end of the line, and when he spoke he did so hesitantly.

"If you two are running off together, you're making a huge mis-" I cut his protests off with an impatient noise from the back of my throat.

"No, not like that. She's been… taken. I'm not coming back without her, not until she's safe or… dead." I choked on the last word, squeezing my eyes shut as though I could block out the reality. It pained me to neglect my duty, but I was far too selfish to leave Baia without her. He swore quietly on the other end of the line and took a death breath.

"I'm sorry, Belikov- this is so much less than the two of you deserve." He muttered angrily.

"But you realise… I can't send you anyone- as much as I want to it's not protocol." I pained him to say it, but I understood- it was exactly what I had expected.

"I understand, I just had to let you know, so you could… organise things accordingly." I said, rubbing my face with my hand.

"As for your jobs…" he started, making me grimace. It went without saying that this was it for us- there was only so far you could push the limits of your employer.

"They'll be waiting for you if…_when_ you get back. Good luck, Belikov." he said, hanging up and leaving me listening to insistent beeping on the end of the line as I processed his words in astonishment.

Shaking off my disbelief, I made the next call- one I knew would be considerably more difficult. I had to call the one other person who perhaps loved Rose as much as I did.

"Dimitri?!" a feminine voice answered in confusion. "Vasilisa…" I started, unsure how to begin.

"What's going on?" she demanded. "Rose hasn't called me for days! What the hell happened?" her voice was laced with worry as she shot questions at me.

"Sorry… it's just that she's got me worried sick." She apologised. "What's going on Dimitri? Is everything okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"No…" I sighed, listening to her quick intake of breath. "She's gone, but I'm going to find her. I will not rest until she is home, do you understand me?" I said emphatically.

"I'm coming with you," she said, speaking through her panic.

"No! No- the best thing you can do for her is stay safe. I'll bring her home, or I'll die trying- I promise." I vowed, noticing too late that Viktoria lingered at the door, flinching at my words.

"That's what I'm afraid of." She whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Tell Janine, she deserves to know. And I need to talk to Adrian- is he back at court yet?" I asked her gently. She sniffed, gathered herself and spoke resolutely.

"Yes. I will, and I'll find Adrian. But Christian wants to talk to you, I'll put him on." I nodded, though I knew she couldn't see me, it was more to myself than for her benefit. I opened my mouth to apologise profusely to my abandoned charge, but was interrupted by his determined voice coming loud and clear through the speaker.

"Okay, Belikov- Go to find our Rose and bring her back, and I don't want to hear any of your duty bullshit. I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. If anyone can find her, it'll be you, so good luck." I chuckled in spite of myself and thanked him. The heavily weighted guilt that had found its way into my stomach lifted upon hearing his words, and with his blessing I could concentrate fully on finding Rose.

The only person left to talk to now, was Adrian. I needed something from him and I wouldn't be above begging if that's what it took. There was a slight commotion on the other and of the line, and I heard Adrian's voice coming through distantly before it was speaking in my ear.

"You don't have to ask, I'll go to her dreams." He said gruffly, and I nearly wept with relief. "Thankyou," I breathed and he huffed in response and letting the line go dead. I put the phone away and turned to Viktoria, who was watching me, her warm brown eyes reflecting her misery.

"I don't want to lose you again." She whispered, her expression pained.

"Rose is like a sister to me, but you are my only brother- I don't want to have to lose both of you." I felt a tug at my heart, it would have been better for us to never have come here- they had moved on and now… I'd reopened old wounds for my whole family.

"I'm sorry Vika- I never wanted to hurt any of you. But without Rose… I wouldn't know who I am anymore." I met her gaze, willing her to understand. She frowned and then sighed in defeat.

"Well, then I guess we've got to get you on your feet again, don't we?"

(((((O)))))

I never really thought of myself as the type of person who has a colourful imagination, but as I sat laying in that bed for the remainder of the day, I realised that your own mind can be crueller and more inventive than any captor. Over and over again, I supressed the images of all the sick and twisted things that could be happening to Rose, images that made my stomach turn and left me longing for the sweet escape of unconsciousness_. Not knowing if she's dead or alive… or something else entirely, because you weren't strong enough to keep her safe. _The Strigoi's words lingered in my mind, reminding me of my failure. I sat like a tightly coiled spring, ready to bounce into action but being weighed down by my injuries. It was enough to drive a man to the brink of insanity- I was close to pulling my hair out waiting for Vika to return with her alleged 'healer'.

She had sworn up and down when she left that she wasn't doing anything dangerous, and only after I threatened to kill her personally if anything happened to her did I allow her to leave. Not that there was much I could have done to stop her- with my head spinning every which way whenever I moved I think I would have been taken down by a kindergartener. It only made it that much for infuriating- _anything _could be happening to Rose at the hands of the strigoi, and I was doing nothing more than sitting around, waiting. I occupied myself with wicked fantasies about the various ways I could kill the strigoi when I got my hands on him. I think first I would do away with his hands, so he could never touch my Roza again… The imaginations were by no means productive, but distracting and semi-satisfying non-the-less.

My visions were interrupted by the return of my sister and a small woman who stood behind her tall slender frame. Her eyebrows pulled together at the sight of my murderous expression and I was quick to wipe my face clean of emotion as the woman stepped out from behind Viktoria.

My eyebrows rose in recognition- the Spirit User, of course! Oksana, her name was- Rose had introduced me to her just a week ago- god, had it really been just a week? Coming back to my family felt like a separate world altogether. Now all I could think about was my all-consuming terror for Rose. Oksana approached me, tentatively reaching out a hand. Her eyes were filled with concern, and while I hated to see it, I knew it was there… pity.

"I'm so sorry for what has happened- the two of you have been through hell and back together, and now this…" she shook her head, lightly touching her fingers to my forehead.

"The least I could do for the two of you is heal you. Give you a chance to fight for her. May I?" she paused, her magic swelling slowly and surging forward, concentrating to the tips of her fingers. I swallowed and nodded, holding my breath as the magic flowed forth from where her fingers brushed my temples, singing with beauty and light. I felt an unfamiliar fluttering sensation in my head before the magic receded, leaving me feeling invigorated and new- like brightly polished silver.

"You're just like her, you know." She said in wonder. "It's amazing, the synchronisation of your minds. Beautiful, really." I looked at her, puzzled by her words. She met my gaze apologetically.

"It's a spirit gift- I can connect with people's minds. Although I try not to, it's difficult to control when I'm using magic on an individual." I nodded in thanks, slightly dazed from the lingering magic as I watched the two of them leave the room. I stood up and stretched out my stiff limbs, working out a crick in my neck before throwing myself into action, stuffing our things into a pile haphazardly, and then sorting through a bag of essentials. Weapons. More weapons.

I eyed my duster wistfully, but put it to the side with a sigh. I filled a small canvas bag with everything I would need: the weapons, ID, thermals, clothes, cash. I checked each item off my mental list as I flew about the room, relishing in the ability to be able to do something productive after hours of inactivity. I had myself packed up and ready in a matter of minutes, and then picked the duster back up and cradled it to my chest. I needed it.

My packing was interrupted by the sound of vibrating, and I spun to find my phone buzzing and I snatched it up after a second's hesitation. Flipping it open, I was met with Adrian's groggy voice.

"I reached her." He said without greeting. I waited for him to continue, holding my breath. "She's drifting in and out of sleep- it's hard to get a concrete hold on her, but it was enough to see that something is wrong. Very wrong." The words came out in a rush and I listened intently, taking in every word.

"She's not herself- her aura isn't really her own and it's almost as if she's not really there, not in her mind. She's under some sort of compulsion, I think. A lot of it- to take away someone's will like that, it would take an exorbitant amount of magic." He sighed, and I exhaled slowly. What was I going to do?

"When you find her… expect that she won't be herself. Rose isn't in there, and I don't know what it will take to bring her back. Be careful, and… bring her home, Belikov."

The line went dead and I shut my eyes. My blood boiled and I stood letting my fury simmer for a moment, trying to reign in my rampaging emotions. Without Rose here, surrounding me with beauty and love, it was so much easier to succumb to the dormant ruthless killer that inhabited the darkest corners of my mind. It seemed that without the other, the two of us were surrendering to a higher power of evil.

We were both losing ourselves.

**Thanks for reading! REVIEW! Let me know what you think! The next chapter will go up once (or if) this story gets 50 reviews. As much as I wish I could, I can't conjure 3000+ words out of thin air, so I'll try to update every few days providing I reach my review goal.**

**xox**


	8. Chapter 7

Rose once told me that leaving my family was one of the most difficult decisions she ever had to make- right alongside choosing to leave Vasilisa and dropping out of school to embark on a killing mission. For her, they were all she had left of me- this house was her last remaining link to the man we all believed was dead. I, on the other hand, felt as though I would leave a piece of myself here- these people were my family, my flesh and blood. And leaving them wasn't even an option- there was no alternative for me- Rose was my home, and I would follow her anywhere. That knowledge only made it harder. I didn't even have to choose to leave my family- the decision had already been made. It made it that much harder to abandon them, again, leaving them not knowing if I am dead or alive, or if I have returned to a state of the most twisted evil imaginable. And yet, I would do it without a second thought. The only thing worse than leaving them in pain, was the alternative of staying and abandoning Rose.

So I left.

My family knew. They knew that it was only a matter of time before I packed up to find Rose. They saw that I was lying dormant, bidding my time. They thought this would be the last time they saw me. As I walked into the kitchen that morning, I met each of their eyes and was greeted with an understanding glint. No-one said anything as I drank in their features, my childhood kitchen, the smell of black-bread and leather-bound books. I let their presence burn into my mind, wiling myself to remember what could potentially be the last time I'd ever see my family. At last I met my grandmother's eyes, who had her chin raised defiantly. She was the only person I could bare to look at for more than a second and as her eyes bore into mine, I saw faith and acceptance reflected in them. "Do what you have to do." She said firmly, and studying her face, and I knew. She believed.

I nodded slowly, and turned back to face the rest of my family. My mother's eyes shimmered with unshed tears as I backed out of the Kitchen, not trusting myself to speak. I kept my eyes on them as I moved, turning at the last second and pushing my way out the door. It was time to put them behind me and throw myself into the impossible task of finding my beloved, but I allowed myself a minute to grieve the loss of the family I had only just regained.

((((O))))

I started with the forest, scouring it for clues and answers and follow any crumbs Adrian could pick up from dream walking.

After days of endless dead ends, my frustration grew and my resolve to find Rose only swelled with each crumbling trail. It seemed as though every time I came up with something solid, she would slip through my fingers like dust. It was killing me.

My need for her was palpable- it was as though she was carrying a piece of me with her, and I could only get it back once she was safe in my arms again. I wanted to curl up and mourn for her, but I was half crazed with my need to find her. There was only a certain amount of frantic worrying the mind could take and I was filled with an all-consuming need to hold her, but not before I beat the living daylights out of the Strigoi who dared to take her away from me.

I stopped at a hotel the next night and ate at a quant café down the road, collecting my thoughts and willing myself to formulate some sort of coherent thought that went beyond my pining for Rose. I had drawn upon my few remaining Strigoi contacts, and they had come up empty- my biggest hope was Adrian reaching her in her dreams. This fact meant that I was rendered practically helpless- not to mention the fact that Ivashkov could reach her, talk to her, hold her… I was driven wild by the thought. I knew, of course was futile, but he had that ability to be with her while all I could do was wait and watch, remaining on my guard, I hurt me beyond comprehension.

A heavy hand on my shoulder disrupted me from my reverie and I spun around with lighting speed, grasping my stake which hung from the inside of my duster. The man standing behind me was clearly human- the knowledge would once have reassured me, but with firsthand experience of humans and their dealings with Strigoi, I only narrowed my eyes and maintained my defensive position. My instinct screamed at me to run, to attack, but if this had anything to do with Rose, which was the only logical explanation, then this could be my ticket to picking up something potentially real. The knowledge held me back and the human stared at me blankly, his eyes fixed on me.

"Dimitri Belikov?" he questioned, still watching me with his face void of emotion. When I didn't answer, his eyes grew cold. I glanced around the café, searching for anyone out of the ordinary but the place was packed with humans and it was impossible to distinguish which ones could be in alliance with the one in front of me. I returned his cold gaze with a menacing stare of my own, waiting apprehensively for a reaction.

"_Dimitriii!" _a feminine voice called desperately. The Human in front of me was unconscious before he knew what was coming and I was sprinting out the door, towards the sound of her voice. Rose was here- _here. _The patrons of the café scattered, panicking as I pushed them roughly out the way as I made my way through the door. Rose- I had to get to her. Her voice came again, muffled slightly and distorted in a way I hadn't noticed before. I pushed forward again, acting on blind rage and desperation, letting my anger surge forward and pushing me harder. I burst through the door and was greeted with cool night air washing over me, raising Goosebumps on my exposed skin.

A sound of desperate sobbing came from a side ally beside the café, still in that strange distorted sound, but my mind barely registered that as a whirled around and surged forward, propelling myself into the alley with my stake poised. There was something happening to Rose to make her sound like that, and it was something that I was going to crush mercilessly. I stepped into the dark space, my eyes scanning desperately for movement, when a hand clamped solidly over my mouth. I shoved my elbow backwards inn attempt to drive my limb into their stomach but my arm met empty air. There was a scuffle and I was suddenly being pinned against the wall by multiple pairs of hands and my frantic thrashing was futile.

A low, familiar chuckle emanated from the darkness, one that made my eyes cloud with blind fury. _He _was here. The strigoi pulled something out of his pocket and made a flicking motion with his thumb, and the dark alley was once again filled with the desperate strangled cries of Rose. He repeated the motion and the cries cut off abruptly, and the sickening truth dawned on me. Rose wasn't here- she never was.

I had been played, and I fell for it flawlessly.

**So very short chapter I know- that's because I didn't get my review goal (sad face) but I wanted to keep the ball rolling to encourage readers. Please guys, your reviews make my day and inspire me to write- if I don't get reviews then I'll assume people have lost interest and I'll lose enthusiasm for writing. **

**Until next time, **

**Xo**

**PWG**


	9. Chapter 8

**Rose POV**

**A/n: Just in advance to prevent confusion, this is told a couple of days after Dimitri was healed. He is off scouring Russia for his beloved Rose, trying to scrape together some sort of trail. **

**And sorry if the previous chapters were hard to read- this is one of my first fanfics so I'm still adjusting to the formatting. I went back and added some more spaces and such, also fixing some mussed up grammar. I apologize if there are some mistakes- I proof-read my own work and when I'm working through a chapter quickly I can miss bits. **

**Enjoy!**

I was a prisoner in my own body. A slave to my flesh and blood, controlled by the most twisted evil imaginable. I was trapped, alone, and isolated.

Which was why I had to fight back.

The compulsion used by the strigoi had worn me down until I was nothing, ensnaring my mind and gaining control of my will. Over the course of the last few days, I had built myself back up, using the things that are most important to me as my core and using the building blocks of my memories to remake myself. The remaining obstacle was, the strigoi still had full control over my body- my thoughts were my own, but my will belonged to him. I had been held prisoner before- but this, this was something else entirely.

I had experienced first-hand what it was like to have everything ripped away from me- leaving a gaping hole in my existence. I had never taken things for granted- I savoured life and relished in what it had to offer, tasting its zest and embracing its beauty. But being a victim of my own body while I lay in there, screaming- this brought ones very being into question.

My first visit from Adrian was like a bucket of cold water to the face. It unsettled me enough to clear my mind and see what I was letting happen- I was quitting, letting go, and Rose Hathaway _never _quits. I let my mind drift back to it now, remembering the look of profound horror on Adrian's face.

I'd been drifting in and out of sleep for hours, letting my mind fog over hazily. I barely even registered the start of an oh-so familiar spirit induced dream, and stood there dazed as Adrian shook my shoulders roughly and shouted. He'd shouted in my face, bordering on screaming, but the sound was drowned out as though he was shouting into water. I could understand or comprehend neither hide nor tail of his desperate calling, and simply watched him blankly as his panicked frustration had boiled and spilled over, breaking off the dream brutally and bluntly. The dream stirred something buried deep inside me, and the last of Adrian's words finally broke through, hitting me like a slap in the face.

I shuddered as I thought of how close to the edge I had come. Hell, I was well and truly over the edge- I had given up. I could have lost myself entirely. Since that night, Adrian came everyday and reminded me of who I am, who I was before this nightmare. At first, I wasn't able to respond- I was trapped in some sort of comatose state where I was aware of his words but unable to gain enough control of my thoughts to use them without the hand of compulsion. Gradually, my mind began to embrace control again and I regained my fire. Of course, there was very little I could actually _do _with my flame other than furiously, and uselessly, try to acquire control of my limbs.

I told myself over and over, I am _my own person,_ I have control over my body, this is my property, _mine. _As passionate as my searching was, it was like trying to find and open a door blindly in the middle of a football field- I knew it was there, but I had no idea how to get to it, let alone open it.

The sound of footsteps resounded above my cell, and I swallowed my dread as the bolt slid open and weak light poured into the room. The continuous visits from the strigoi only served to remind me of how weak I was. He made it perfectly clear on several accounts that he could make me do _anything _he wanted and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Secretly, I didn't believe he would do anything for fear of me breaking hold of his vice-like grip on me, but the vulnerability was petrifying.

Setting my eyes with their usual vacant stare, I fixed my gaze on nothing in particular as I waited for the onslaught of compulsion that accompanied the periodic strigoi appearances. The rungs vibrated as he descended to my own personal hell hole.

"Now dear, don't you look a fright!" he smiled, his eyes wide with glee. His taunting claimed little effect on me- I had almost become accustomed to his jackass teasing.

"If only your Dimitri could see you now…" he scratched his chin in mock thoughtfulness, his eyes turned skywards and he feigned pondering something. Clasping his hands together, he turned to me with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning.

"You know, I think we'll make that happen." he said decidedly, watching me carefully and gaging my reaction. My eyes swivelled to his in panic and a satisfied smile plastered across his face. He practically waltzed back to the entry of the trap door and called up for someone to. Seconds later, a man descended the ladder, his hands shaking violently. He landed on the concrete with a thud that echoed throughout the cold cell and ricocheted off the walls.

I watched him in horrified fascination- he was the first person I'd seen in the flesh other than the strigoi in what felt like an immeasurable amount of time. He was a Moroi and clearly in bad shape- his sandy hair was tousled and matted, his skin smattered with flowering purple bruises and dark circles underlined his brown eyes. Silently, he made his way to the strigoi with hesitant steps and, hands shaking, handed him a compact black object.

Turning it over in his hands gleefully, his red eyes turned to me with an expression that made my stomach turn.

"Rose, meet Marius DeLance. I expect this won't be the last you see of our Marius here. You and he are my secret weapons, you see." He gestured to the Moroi standing in the corner of the cell. He looked weak and traumatized, making me wonder what he had to offer this power hungry sicko.

"Scream, Rose. Do it of your own accord or mine- either one will satisfy me." He said in an offhand tone, as though discussing simple grocery shopping. When I stayed silent, he crossed the room in two long strides and backhanded me, leaving a sharp sting across my face that made my eyes water. I coughed but stayed otherwise silent and met his eyes defiantly. A voice at the back of my mind reminded me that he could compel into the scream, or perhaps just torture me… but making him _force _me to do it was my only form of rebellion. A weak one, but it was there none-the-less. The defiance was more for my own sake than his- I could prove to myself that I was still kicking, no matter how minutely.

He grunted, and knelt down to eye level, grabbing my chin roughly and forcing my eyes to meet his own.

"Submit, You'll do everything I ask." He growled, then shoved my face away from him in apparent disgust. His thumb hovered over a switch on the black object, and he murmured quietly, "Now scream."

And I did.

It was like a hook reached into my throat and extracted my shrieks. Against my will, I screamed and called for Dimitri, all the while tears poured down my face with the knowledge that this would only be used to hurt him. My heart ached painfully, swelled with the dread of losing him, the agony of missing him and Lissa.

When the Strigoi was satisfied, he departed leaving me gasping in his wake. With the distance between us, the effects of the compulsions slowly began to recede, and I curled in on myself trying to block out the storm cloud of fear stirring in my gut. With my eyes closed, I didn't notice the presence of the Moroi man until he knelt by my side. I gasped and jerked away from him, scrambling to put space between us. I stopped my frantic shuffling when my eyes met his- they were filled with compassion, underlined with raw suffering and I stared at him in confusion as he reached his hand out and gently brushed my cheek.

"I'm s-sorry- he, he has my family." He stuttered quietly, almost desperately, as though seeking redemption- begging for me to understand. Slowly, the familiar sweet song of magic filled me from his fingertips, and I felt the pain in my stiff limbs and the burning of my stung cheek recede. I closed my eyes in understanding, nodding my thanks- this was his secret weapon: a spirit user.

It seemed as though he was building himself a gang of blackmailed, tortured warriors, which was a far cry from the 'fun' he continually promoted. Marius stood up swiftly and followed after the strigoi before he noticed his absence, climbing up the ladder as shakily as he had descended.

"I'm sorry." I whispered after him, and he paused at the top of the ladder for half a second before pulling himself up through the trapdoor and swinging it shut, plunging me into semi-darkness.

**So I will be making weekly updates from now on until I FINISH THIS STORY. Yeah- I'm going to finish it, thanks for your encouraging (and somewhat outraged) reviews. **

**Please, please, please, please, please review. It means the world to me. Thanks so much for reading and for your continued support- I love to write and you readers give me the motivation to do it. **

**xox**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello! Fun Fun Fun. Things are looking pretty hopeless aren't they? Well not to worry- plenty more where that came from Haha. But I'm sure everything will work out in the end…**

**This is Rose POV again just to keep you guys wondering about Dimitri for a bit longer tihi. **

Breath in…Breath out… Inhale, exhale. Repeat.

The only sound that had filled the dank, dark room was that of my deep breathing. I felt as though I'd spent my own little eternity cooped up inside this cell, void of any warmth or comfort.

The waiting was agony- I could feel the increasing tension, the awareness in the atmosphere that something was about to happen. I knew I couldn't spend a lifetime in this basement- the strigoi had held me here for a higher purpose than to become his prisoner. It seemed as though we were nearing the precipice of this torture, and everything was about to spill over as the strigoi put his plans into motion. I vowed to myself, as I sat bound both in body and in mind, that I would come out of this free or dead. I refused to let myself become a tool in the pursuit of evil.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to die- I had so much to live for. That's what made this different to my last journey to Baia. I had come to Russia as an empty shell with nothing to live for and everything to die for. Now, I had my whole life ahead of me. I craved my future, one I should have been able to spend with Lissa at my side and Dimitri watching my back. If I couldn't have that, I didn't want anything. I would die rather than live in servitude of hell-on-earth, and I had no qualms about making that happen.

I couldn't say the same for Dimitri.

It was one thing to be going into this alone, but the knowledge that I was dragging one of the people that I love most down with me was eating me up inside. The only small comfort it offered is that if there was no chance of escape, we could manipulate the situation and die together. Not a reassuring fate in the slightest.

A disturbance above my head snapped me out of my reverie, and I fixed my eyes on the trap-door waiting with dreading apprehension for the familiar grind of the metal latch. I took a deep shuddering breath and watched as my captor descended the metal rungs, his shoes clanging on the rusted metal.

By normal standards, his appearances usually began with some form of taunting- pointless jibes that seemed to entertain him to no end. This time however, he crossed the room wordlessly and knelt at my side, yanking roughly on my chains. I watched on in confusion as he freed my blistered wrist from its bind, my befuddled and sluggish mind taking a moment to process the unfolding situation.

He turned to my other arm, releasing the shackles as quickly as he had done the first. My mind snapped into focus and I launched myself at the rungs. Needless to say, I didn't get very far.

"Stop!" he barked, and my obedient body ceased in its tracks. Despite my alertness, I felt my knees begin to shake and black spots danced across my eyes as by beaten down body attempted to adapt to the sudden action.

Striding over to where I stood, he roughly grabbed my elbow and jerked me towards the rungs, pulling my battered body up after him none too gently and dumping me unceremoniously on the carpeted floor, and I dug my grubby crusted fingernails into the soft texture with a shudder. I squinted my eyes and calmed my laboured breathing, letting my eyes adjust to the sudden light. Gradually, I opened my eyes to meet those of the Strigoi- fixing him with a penetrating stare injected with as much venom as I could muster.

His eyes flashed and he leaned forward and jerked me to my feet, almost dislodging my arm from its socket. I grunted as he dragged my stumbling form forward, grinding my teeth in frustration at my helpless and subordinate state.

Out of pure spite, I yanked my arm away from where his cold fingers clasped it and snarled in his direction. Of course I knew it was stupid, but the rational part of me had been slightly less rational since it had come to the conclusion that I was going to die. If I was going to die a slave, might as well do it my way, right?

Wrong.

Smiling slightly the strigoi leaned in, grasping my waist tightly and pulled me to him. His other hand came up to my jaw, and lightly traced a line down to my exposed neck. I shuddered in disgust, but I would be lying to myself if I said it didn't send my mind reeling in the wrong direction.

"Put your arms around my neck." He commanded lightly, and to my horror my numb arms responded obediently, sliding over his stone cold shoulders and clasping at the nape of his neck. Having this with Dimitri was one thing- then, I was able to delude myself with the illusion of the man he had once been, the man I loved. This- this vile creature- was another thing entirely. There was nothing to him but the epitome of all evil. It made me feel filthy, weak, helpless.

"Why can't you see that you belong to me, Rose?" he simpered, genuinely unable to see the reason I kept fighting him. "The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be."

"I'll never be yours." I spat venomously. He chuckled coldly in response, his head bending down so he looked up at me through his eyelashes.

"Don't you see… you already are." His laughter bounced through the hall as he hauled me forward, pulling me through another door and casting me to into the empty space.

I wobbled on my feet and watched as he retreated, leaving me once again is solitude. His words echoed through my mind and as much as I told myself otherwise, I couldn't help but see the truth in his harsh words.

I surveyed my new dwelling, and decided meekly that it was an improvement from the underground cell. At least I wasn't chained to the wall.

My eyes travelled to the full length mirror that took up the span of almost the entirety of the far wall. A woman stood staring back at me, and she bore little resemblance to the one I saw myself as. This woman was gaunt, tired, and troubled. She seemed weighed down with the burden of impending doom, or a fate worse than death.

I walked towards the mirror to get a closer look, and saw that the reflection was indeed myself. Gingerly, I touched my split lip and attempted to wipe away the encrusted blood. My gaze moved to my throat, where the bruises smattered along my neck were fading to an ugly yellow. My clothes, though rumpled and filthy, were in relatively good shape considering what they'd been through. The only other injuries I'd attained were my skinned knees- god knows how I'd done that- and my thoroughly raw and blistered wrists.

_It could be worse_, I acknowledged optimistically. Although, the combination of dried mud and matted tangled hair was enough to break the mirror. And it was also a great likelihood that it would indeed get worse in the next few days to come. But I supposed-

…

_Break the Mirror._

A jagged shard of glass would be an ideal weapon- it wouldn't kill him, no, but it could buy me time, give me a chance. And that was all I needed.

My foot came up with the force of a small truck packed behind it, but before my shoe could connect with the glass my leg jerked to a stop. My toes hovered about an inch away from the glass, but I couldn't move them any closer to the mirror no matter how hard I pushed. Lowering my foot lest I fall over, I went to touch the surface of the glass with my fingertips, but was once again stopped by an invisible barrier.

Puzzled, I ran my hand along the apparent obstacle, travelling from one end of the room to the other. I traced the edges of the mirror but could find no give in the solid wall that blocked me from the glass. I abandoned all attempts at finding a flaw in the barrier and moved to the other walls. They were solid brick, and I was able to touch these without any difficulty but every time I moved to break or even touch the mirror my advances were stopped in mid-air.

I contemplated trying to carve or pry one of the bricks free, but I had nothing but my bare hands to work with and I had a feeling I would end up doing more damage to myself than the wall.

Aside from the mirror, the room was empty- I had no furniture to work with this time. Returning to the mirror, I hesitantly reached out and once again brushed the surface blocking me from the mirror. My mind turned it over as I began to pace, and I felt myself growing frustrated and restless. What chance did I have if I couldn't even figure out a wall?!

I stretched out my stiff muscles, and I could admit that it felt good to be able to walk of my own accord- to move around just for the feel of my muscles moving. The room wasn't big, but it was just enough that I could walk around comfortably. In fact- it was enough even for me to run the length of the floor without being constricted. So I did just that, relishing in the feel of my working limbs. I ran the length of the room and touched where the floor connected with the bricks before sprinting to the other side and repeating the action, in a similar fashion to the warm up drills we would perform at the academy. It was just what I needed to clear my head of my fear and confusion.

When my blood started pumping and I felt a familiar flush heat my cheeks, I stopped running. I didn't want to exhaust my fragile body when I knew I would need my strength. I slid down the bricks and to the floor, my mind readdressing the current issue. I t was magic- that I was sure of. Each time I touched it, there was a familiar zing of magic that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

But what sort of magic would produce a solid barrier? A ward could repel strigoi, but what use would that do against a Dhampir? And it wasn't as though I was being repelled- it was a physical wall. And that magic, it was so familiar. Almost like… Robert's telekinesis.

Oh.

I mulled this new information over, and felt myself growing weary. Before I even noticed it was happening, I let my tired body drag me into my first dream since the night I initially woke up in my concrete hell.

I found myself standing outside an old building- it was a beautiful piece of architecture. There were sweeping marble pillars and grand arches, and the grounds were filled with blooming flowers that bobbed their head at me. It was incredibly peaceful here, and I let myself relax as I took in the perfect scenery. I scratched my nose absent-mindedly as I began walking into the garden slowly, unsure as to where the dream was taking me. A crunching set of footsteps snapped me into alertness, and I whirled to meet Adrian's eyes. Adrian's eyes in amazing clarity-clarity that could only mean one thing. This was a spirit dream.

I stared at him wide eyed for a second before launching myself at him, throwing myself into him. I realised too late that this wasn't what he wanted, but it just felt too good to hold someone that I loved for me to really care. I huffed and squeezed his shoulders tightly, nearly weeping with gratitude when he returned the gesture.

"Rose?" he asked hesitantly, peering at me through uncertain eyes. "It's really you…how-how did you… how are you you?"

"I fought back." I said simply, and rested my head against his shoulder. "I'm so glad you came- I didn't think I'd ever see you again…"

"Of course I came." He breathed, stepping back to look at me. I looked down, and saw that I was in exactly the same state as I was in the waking world. His face radiated with disgust and fear as he surveyed my bruised body, and I squirmed under his gaze, growing uncomfortable. I jerked, and frantically caught his arm, shaking it to get his attention.

"Dimitri! Adrian you have to find… you have to tell him- it's a trap and he might not know, no, he _can't _know and they'll, Adrian they'll _kill _him. Please-" the words tumbled out of my mouth without filter, and I found myself pleading with him. He pried my iron tight fingers from around his arm, where I was squeezing tight enough to cut off the circulation.

"Slow down, there. Just relax and tell me what happened." He said gently, his expression alarmed.

"They took an audio of my voice- I was screaming," I started desperately, and his expression darkened at my words. I didn't have time to explain it to him, so I just continued.

"They're going to use it against him, I just don't know how. Please, just warn him. Please." I begged, my fear bordering on overwhelming. If it wasn't too late, I could give Dimitri the upper hand and keep him safe. Safe, safe, safe. I repeated the words in my head like a mantra. He would be safe.

"I only spoke to him a few days ago- He'll be okay." He offered reassuringly, pulling me into another tight hug before stepping away. "I'll go now. We all love you." He looked as his feet and let the dream fade, and I snapped awake, my renewed worry consuming my mind.

Would Adrian contact Dimitri in time?

As soon as the question had formulated in my mind, the door swung open and in walked the Strigoi, pushing a stumbling form along in front of him.

"Rose!" a voice rasped. A gritted my teeth, not needing to look up to put a name to the voice.

Well, I guess that answers that question then.

**Hope you liked this chapter, I struggled with finishing it on time but I DID IT. Thanks so much for your support. You know the drill, please review. **

**Let me know what you think please!**

**xo**


	11. Chapter 10

**The next chapter is here! Sorry for the late update but I have been busy! Busy! Busy! So, I was a bit torn between Rose and Dimitri, so I'm going to go for a bit of both, just for something different. That will also help lead into what I'll be doing in the future, with swapping back and forth between perspectives. **

**I hope you like it, and that it's not too depressing for you- I'm glad I had the happy bits at the start otherwise this story would be a bit too gloomy. There will be (eventually) more 'happy bits' to come- I'm just taking this story a little further than I thought I would and so I don't want to rush into the ending and have an anticlimax. After all, I have fans to please now (which is very exciting for me)**

**RPOV**

Whatever lingering hope I had been clinging to of Dimitri staying safe ebbed away as I watched my worst nightmare unfold in front of me. As soon as my eyes met his, chaos broke loose as our building desperation reached its peak- this was an opportunity, and we were not going to waste it.

Dimitri intensified his struggles, jerking violently in attempt to break the Strigoi's vice like grip. His whole body bucked, his muscles coiling and pulling, trying to rip himself free. At the same time, I leapt to my feet and threw myself forward, praying to god that the Strigoi was too occupied by Dimitri's struggles to concentrate on me.

Apparently, god either didn't exist or was not listening, because the Strigoi's harsh voice ricocheted off the brick walls seconds later, leaving me frozen on the spot. I cried out in fury, pushing with all my will to get my feet to move. It was no use, every time I thought I was getting close to overcoming his power, it would snap back like an elastic band.

Dimitri's efforts doubled as he saw me fixed where I stood, and an impatient noise came from the back of the Strigoi's throat. He jerked his chin towards the door, signalling for a third figure to emerge from the open door. Marius.

His eyes flickered to mine for half a second, before he turned to Dimitri, a small vial clutched in his hand. Dimitri's mouth set in a firm line as he laid eyes on the vial and I was slow to process what was about to happen. Marius hesitantly pulled the seal off of the small glass bottle and held it up, waiting for instructions. Watching my look of profound horror as the realisation dawned on me, the Strigoi's mouth twisted up in one corner into a cunning smirk.

"Come here, Rose." He purred sweetly, and my feet moved of their own accord to where the three men watched my approach.

"Desmond… Don't…" Marius croaked desperately, and it took me a second to place the name as the Strigoi's. To me, he had just become a nameless enemy- something to be exterminated, not worth a second glance. Marius' use of the name made me re-consider it. Don't get me wrong- he, Desmond, was despicable. Less Value than the dirt on my shoes. But maybe, like Dimitri, he just needed to be released from this perpetual state of raw evil. And by freeing him, I meant killing him. Secretly, I couldn't stand the thought of him walking the streets again after what he had done to me, no matter how changed. Maybe it was selfish, but of course there was the chance that he _wasn't _turned forcefully…

Never the less, he was what he was, and at that current point in time what he _was _happened to be a vile sickening creature of hell. Desmond's eyes narrowed into slits, and he hissed as Marius' pleading.

"Remember who makes the rules." He articulated, and Marius nodded and turned his attention to me, pressing the vial in to my hands and stepping out of my view and swinging the industrial door shut with a loud clang. I watched him go, grinding my teeth in frustration. It was so _simple. _My escape was right there in front of me, but I was no closer to getting to it than if I had been chained to a wall 20 feet below the ground. And now with Dimitri here with me, all I could do was watch him suffer and not lift a finger against it. I glanced down to the glass in my hands, unbeknownst to its contents. I swallowed my rising sense of dread as I predicted what Desmond was about to make me do- whether it was poison or sleeping drugs, I held within my hand the potential to cause Dimitri harm. My hand began to shake slightly under the pressure. Desperately, I tried to let it slip through my fingers and smash to the ground, but my nerves refused to abide.

"Make him drink it." Desmond said, his tone deadpan. I took a shaky breath as I tried to deny his impending force, and my legs took one stiff step forward. _No! _

Another step forward my body pushed. Beads of sweat formed along my hairline from the strain, but my feet kept shuffling baby steps towards the two of them. All the while, Dimitri kept his eyes down, his stance stiff. _He doesn't believe I can do it, _I realised with horror. Of course not, I couldn't do it- I wasn't strong enough to hold against him and was just preventing the inevitable.

This realisation came crashing down on me, and my own internal fight crumbled as my obedient feet carried me forward until I stood directly in front of them. Finally, Dimitri's gaze came up to meet mine, and he tilted his head back and opened his mouth a fraction. I closed my eyes as I realised what we was doing. He didn't want me to have to fight him- he knew how much it would hurt me to force this down his throat, so he wasn't going to make me. It came to me because I would have exactly the same thing in his position.

_Trust him…_

I opened my eyes and tipped the vial into his mouth, my hand tremoring. He choked minutely and swallowed, his eyelids drooping instantly. My own welled with tears, but I held them back: Desmond would not see me cry. Finally free, I cast the bottle aside, hearing it bounce noisily on the floor before coming to a stop.

Dimitri's body hung limply in the Strigoi's arms, and I searched his face frantically for any sign of life. There- a slight movement of his chest was all that indicated he was still alive. I supposed Desmond wasn't done toying with us yet.

He dragged his unconscious form across the room, dumping him unceremoniously onto the ground, making me wince. I locked my feet in place, waiting until Desmond left before running to him. Being far apart was agonising, but I could wait for a few seconds more after what we'd endured apart.

"So now you see, there is _nothing _I can't make you do." Desmond said, fixing me with a penetrating stare. _Always with the painful reminders, _I thought miserably. He never failed, in my darkest moments, to point out the worst of the situation. It really wasn't helping.

With that, he strode purposefully out the door, slamming it shut behind him almost as though trying to emphasise its presence. I counted to 10 before starting forward, intent on reaching Dimitri. I needed to do something for him, if it was even to just smooth back his hair or stroke his shoulders- I needed to be with him to reassure myself that we could do this. The nagging voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like Desmond was getting louder and a shadow of self-doubt had begun to creep its way into my mind. If I could just have Dimitri by my side…

I stopped short in my tracks, about halfway across the room. Dimitri was only metres away from me, and yet I couldn't go any further.

_No._

I ground my teeth, pushing harder against the non-existent wall, but exactly like the mirror no matter how much I battered the empty space I couldn't make any progress forward. It also probably mean there wasn't a single flaw in the telekinetic barrier, but that didn't stop me from trying to find one.

When my search came up empty I slid to the floor, resting my head on my knees in defeat. I saw what the Strigoi was doing- he was trying to make me question myself, take the things that make up who I am and destroy me with them. I killed me to admit that it was working, but I couldn't really see past it.

Without being really conscious of it happening, I began nodding off into a light sleep. I relaxed into it, submerging myself into oblivion as a pleasant escape from my negative thoughts and felt a dream- an ordinary one- start to take me.

_I opened my eyes to sunlight streaming in through the window- my window, I realised with a start. I was home. _

_Turning over, I found myself staring into a pair of warm brown eyes and I relaxed, my mind content with the knowledge that all was right in the world. _

_The sound of gurgled crying snapped me out of my day dream, and I responded instantly, my dream self seemingly acting on her own accord. I let the dream take me to across the room, following along with the unfolding scenario lazily. _

_I came to a stop in front of a delicately carved wooden crib. It was lavish and extravagant, but I was too distracted by its contents to give it much notice. A small writhing form was bundled in the centre of the soft downy blankets, and an immense wave of emotion crashed instantly down on me. I knew, without a doubt, that this baby was mine. Scooping her up and into my arms, her crying stopping suddenly. I peered into her shining brown eyes, so similar to the ones I had been staring into not moments ago and was overcome with wonder and awe. _

_A small voice, perhaps my conscious self, reminded me that this was impossible but it was silenced quickly by the fact that she was here, in my arms. Another pair of stronger arms wrapped around my waist from behind me, and Dimitri's face appeared in my peripheral as he rested his chin on my shoulder. _

_"Ours." I breathed in disbelief. _

_"Of course," he replied, turning me to face him. "We can do anything together, remember? She's our little hope." _

I woke up to a different world. Sure, I was still a prisoner, but it was my perception of the situation that had changed rather than the physical place itself. I was looking at my surroundings with a new sensation: Hope. I'd cheated death on more than one occasion- one undead evil incarnate was nothing compared to what we'd been through. I knew that having a baby was impossible, and it still didn't bother me as much as It perhaps should have but it was what the little girl had represented was what inspired me to not give up. Maybe we couldn't have a real child together, but we could achieve the incredible, and between us we could make the impossible possible. God knows we'd done it before.

We could do this together- we didn't have a choice.

(((((O)))))

**DPOV**

My joints were stiff; my muscles sore and heavy. The room around me was dark and I waited for a few moments for my sight to adjust before rolling over.

She was here, and seeing her alive and in the flesh relieved me to no end. I had been given continuous updates as to her condition, thanks to Adrian, but it was nothing compared to being able to see her for myself rather than taking another's word for it.

For a long moment, neither of us moved, just sat there staring at each other, our eyes scanning for injury.

Her skin was mottled with blood and dirt, bruising patched her normally flawless skin. Her hair- _my _hair- was knotted and tangled. A rising sense of fury found its way into my mind, and all I could think about was getting her out of here. That Strigoi _scum _had no right to lay a finger on her- the only hands to touch her should be out of love, the only eyes to lay on her should be ones that saw her for the true beauty that she was. _He _did not have that privilege- only the truly lucky ones did.

I pulled myself to my knees and crawled closer, needing to hold her. Before I could reach her, she stopped me with a small noise and a shake of her head, her hand coming up in front of her with five fingers splayed. I stared at her hand in confusion until I reached forward, my own hand stopping when it reached a solid surface.

"Telekinesis." She stated, and my eyebrows shot up at her words. So the Strigoi was throwing around spirit magic.

Her hand remained suspended in the air, and I brought my own up to meet hers, aligning our fingers. It was almost as if we were touching, but the lack of warmth and soft skin reminded me it wasn't so.

I thought back to before I'd been rendered unconscious, her despondent expression. She'd looked so distraught, I couldn't bear to look at her. Now, when I inspected her face, I saw that it shone with new found hope. I wondered what had happened while I'd been obliviously blacked out, only knowing that it must have been substantial to make that sort of an impact on her persona.

She looked at me with complete and utter faith- and I vowed to myself I would be worthy of that faith. There was no chance in hell I was letting her down again. What the strigoi hadn't realised when he put us together, no doubt in hopes of us feeding off of each other's suffering, is that when Rose and I were side by side, we were a force to be reckoned with.

**So I hope you liked it- I had a lot of fun writing it. It's a nice break from the usual doom and gloom to write some hope back in to the story. **

**Please let me know what you think- If you're liking the story please just take a couple of seconds to say so, every review means the world to me!**

**If I get enough reviews then I'll so an early update!**

**Thanks for your support, **

**Xox**

**PWG**


	12. Chapter 11

**I have been visualising this chapter for a long time, and it feels great to finally have it down. I ****_really_**** hope you like this chapter. I visualised a couple of different ways for this to go but settled on this one, I hope it does not disappoint. **

_Love is the voice under all silences, the hope which has no opposite in fear; the strength so strong mere force is feebleness: the truth more first than sun, more last than star…_ E.E. Cummings

**DPOV**

I don't know how long we lay there, against that telekinetic wall, with our backs pressed against the place where we should have felt the other's warmth.

Her breathing was soft, and I could almost feel the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders against mine. I could almost feel her stirring, _almost _feel her against my back. So, so close, yet she remained untouchable to me.

I suppose we could have talked, but there was nothing we could have said that we couldn't communicate through being near each other, nothing either of us said would be something the other didn't already know. So we just lay there, almost touching.

_We'll do it all_

_Everything_

_On our own_

_We don't need_

_Anything_

_Or anyone_

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me and just forget the world?_

_I don't quite know_

_How to say_

_How I feel_

_Those three words_

_Are said too much_

_They're not enough_

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me and just forget the world?_

_-Snow Patrol, "Chasing cars"_

**RPOV**

I was so _tired _of the fear.

Fear could eat you up inside. I knew that.

So I did the only logical thing- I let it go. It was time for this to end, and I was not going into it afraid.

Or so I kept telling myself.

The arrival of Desmond marked what the two of us had been waiting for. After dawdling about for an immeasurable amount of time, we knew he would waste no time in setting his plans into action.

Desmond's gleeful expression confirmed our hunch, and Dimitri and I exchanged a brief glance before turning to meet our fate.

"Dearest Rose, you've proved to be much stronger than I thought you would be- after everything, you still refuse to break." He started, his eyes shining.

"I'll admit, it's been quite entertaining, watching you fight back. But in order for me to rebuild you, I must first destroy you. There is only one thing in this world that will truly make you fall apart. Do you know what that is? I suspect you do." He spoke with his hands clasped behind his back, rocking to and fro on his heels.

I kept my face impassive, but my mind reeled- what did he have in store for me? _I can handle it, _I thought fiercely.

"Come on, you can do better than that- what is it that means most to you? Above all else?" he prompted, leaning forward. My eyes flickered briefly to Dimitri- it was only for a fraction of a second but Desmond caught it and smiled.

"Good girl. I knew you'd catch on." He sighed happily, his eyes darting between the two of us.

"I'll give you a moment to process that. But you needn't worry- I'll be back soon enough."

He walked away from where the two of us stood, identical looks of horror plain on our faces. With one last shooting glance over his shoulder, he all but skipped out the door.

Dread settled into the pit of my stomach, which turned violently and threatened to bring up its meagre contents.

I sank to the ground and put my head in my hands, and tried to stifle my panic. I pulled in ragged breaths, choking on them. Air- there wasn't any air in my lungs. I gulped with each breath, trying to fill my lungs with enough oxygen and exhaling shakily.

"_Roza!" _Dimitri called, his tone of voice making me think this wasn't the first time he had called my name.

"Rose, you need to calm down, okay? Deep breaths." He said, taking deep breaths of his own as though in demonstration. I matched my breathing to his, and my dread clouded mind slowly began to clear as my vaporous thoughts became solid.

"How can you tell me to calm down?! He is going to _kill _you, Dimitri! I can't do this without you." I said desperately. Oh god, oh god. I had known this was coming, but now, actually hearing it out loud… I wasn't scared- I was terrified.

"You _can _do this without me, you are the strongest, most resilient person I've ever met. You've gotten out of worse than this with me _against _you, for Christ's sake. But we don't have to focus on that- we'll figure something out. I have faith in us- I'm not afraid." He leaned his forehead against the barrier between us, and for a moment I just stood watching him, my breath coming in heavy puffs.

Then, I moved over to him, standing just inches away and staring into his brown eyes, letting the rest of the world blur. I drowned everything around me out, just stared into his all-consuming eyes. It was hypnotic, and for a moment calmed my thoughts into tranquillity. I pressed my own forehead against the invisible wall to meet his, hearing his soft exhale of breath but not feeling it against my face the way I should have.

What did we do to deserve this?

(((((O)))))

When Desmond returned, he carried Marius in tow, who trailed along behind him looking gaunt and spent. My heart went out to him, but I couldn't spend too much time dwelling on his suffering when I had my own more pressing issues to deal with.

Dimitri and I had tried discussing some sort of tactics, but without some sort of idea to go on we'd been unable to comprise any sort of plan that was actually worthwhile. We'd just be acting on instincts.

"Remove the magic, Marius." He instructed, and Marius responded instantly, his body sagging in exhaustion.

I had to lock myself in place to stop myself from tackling Dimitri and shielding him with my body. Not that I would have been able to cover much of his six foot seven frame, but it would certainly make me feel better.

"I assume you've deciphered by now, that you have to die." He said, addressing Dimitri, who narrowed his eyes. "But it would seem like a waste of an opportunity if I didn't do it properly, don't you think?"

I took a step forward and cleared my throat, all eyes in the room swivelling to where I stood. "You don't have to kill him to make me subordinate. I'll do whatever you ask." I said, keeping my voice even and avoiding Dimitri's gaze.

Desmond considered this for a moment, and I supressed any hope that had begun to bud hesitantly in my chest.

"No. He's much more benefit to me dead. I want you to kill him." He said to me, and the three figures watching and waiting for his reaction froze.

"What?" I spoke in a low voice, at the same time as Marius let out a stifled cry of horror. All the while, Dimitri stayed extremely silent.

"You heard me. _Kill. Him. Do not rest until he is dead." _The command came with the full force of Desmond's compulsion, and I felt my control over my body begin to shut down.

Carefully, Desmond pulled something out of his coat. It was swathed in layer of dark cloth, and he handed it to me with a grin. I knew what it was before the material was even partly removed- my stake. I'd kill myself before I used it against Dimitri.

Turning to Marius almost as an afterthought, Desmond sneered at him. "Keep in mind I'll have your children for dinner and your wife for pleasure if you try anything."

"Put that through his heart- and Marius' too, if he gives either of you any assistance. And do _not _turn it against yourself. You remain alive." He said with a nod to the stake I clutched in my hand, walking slowly backwards. He paused at the door for just long enough to watch me turn towards Dimitri and start forward, my stride confident despite my mind pleading with myself to stop.

The door swung shut behind him, but I barely noticed- I was too occupied by the appalling deed that my muscles were performing without my consent. The amount of compulsion Desmond used what insurmountable- I was about as free as a Puppet on a string, and Desmond was the puppeteer piloting my actions above my head. I'd always hated puppets.

Dimitri backed up against the wall as I strode towards him, his face expressionless as he puzzled out his next move.

"Fight me." I begged. "Don't let me do this."

He searched my eyes and gave a brief nod, then stiffened his stance and waited for me to make the first move.

As hard as a fought it, it wasn't long before my limbs sought to perform the task with which they had been burdened. My mind was screaming at me to stop, but I felt nothing. _What are you doing!? Don't you see what you're doing?" _But there was nothing I could do to reach the link to my body that didn't even seem to be there. As my muscles moved of their own accord, my mind began to shut down, a soothing voice in my head quieting me and telling me to relax into what I've been training to do all my life: kill.

With a deep breath, I raised the stake.

**DPOV**

I watched her lift the stake and felt a somewhat detached sadness engulf me. I loved her- oh how I loved her. More than anything, I wanted for this all to be one sickening nightmare, but I knew of course that this was nothing less than reality. I had to get her out- out of the trance that bound her so tightly, out of the hands of her sick minded captor, out of this hellhole.

I didn't know if I could break through to her, but by god I would do it or die trying. But I suppose that was the idea- that I would die at the hands of Rose and leave her broken and alone in the world. I couldn't let that happen. Never before in my life had I been more determined.

Never before in my life had I felt so desperate.

This fight would be the fight of a lifetime- Rose and I were so equally matched, so balanced on the scale of skill. Beating her in an ordinary spar proved difficult, but when she was armed with a stake to my bare hands… she would be untouchable.

The ideal scenario would have me break through to her- to pull _my _Rose back to where she belonged, but it was more than likely that fate would not have it that way. Unconsciousness was feasible, and with this in mind a struck out with a glancing blow to the side of her head in attempt to catch her off guard. I winced, but took advantage of her hesitation to swing my leg out with the target of her stomach- If I was going to render her unconscious, I wanted to do it quickly.

She anticipated my move before I'd barely even initiated it, and she side stepped my kick and grabbed me be the lower leg and yanked me forward, hoping to trigger a loss of balance. Before she could use it to her 'advantage', I dropped to the floor and rolled out of her reach.

Leaping to my feet, I backed up a few steps, giving myself more manoeuvrability. She hurtled forward, facing me side on as she thrust her hand upward, towards my nose. As I grabbed her wrist her other hand swiped forward with the mission of putting the stake in my heart, but I saw it coming. She was trying to distract me with one blow so she could kill me with the other- I'd taught her that move. Before the stake could get within the near vicinity of my heart I swept her feet out from under her with my own leg, then joined her on the floor and pinned her down with my torso.

She struggled, her body trying to buck me off of her. I grunted as her elbow connected with my chin, but kept my hold on her firm. When her struggling didn't cease, I shifted my weight and brought a hand up to her head. Grabbing a fist full of hair to hold her still, I locked eyes with her.

"Rose! Roza? Shhhh…" I said, leaning my cheek on hers and breathing in her ear. "Rose, please come back to me, I'm right here." I pleaded with her. When she persisted to fight me I ground my teeth together- I didn't know how long we had before the Strigoi came to check on her. Tightening my hold on her hair, I lifted her head up slightly and leaned back to look her in the eye.

"I- I'm…" I cut off my apology and widened my eyes when I took in her face. Her nose and lips showed no sign of emotion and remained impassive, but when I looked into her eyes I saw they were contorted with misery. Her eyes welled with tears that spilled onto her cheeks and trailed down her temple, leaving tracks in the dirt that stuck to her skin as the little salty droplets dripped off her face.

"Roza?" I breathed, moving my hair to brush the tears away with my thumbs. "You're so close. So close to breaking through to me. Just reach out, you're almost there."

She whimpered and I started to shift my weight to pin her less painfully, but she thrashed out as soon as my chest moved, bucking her body and rolling us over so she straddled me. She used her weight to its maximum ability in a way that I'd never been able to teach her, her small size effectively pinning me to the floor. Her stake came forward with shaking hands and I fought to push her off.

Both of our arms began to shake against the pressure, and I watched her as her face became more and more strained, all the while tears continued to leak out of her eyes. The harder I pushed against her, the more she seemed to shut down and succumb to the compulsion. So I did the only feasible thing- I stopped fighting.

My arms fell limply to the floor, and her eyes widened.

"What are you doing!?" she shrieked, her hands continued to shake as the stake moved towards my heart. It inched forward until it was poised against my heart, the cool metal pricking my shirt.

"It's okay. Everything's okay." I soothed. Both of our breaths came in ragged gasps and my heaving chest causing the silver to puncture the skin above my heart. A small bead of blood bloomed there, and both of us stared at it. I let my breathing slow and let my head fall back against the floor as I noticed something.

I was still alive.

My eyes swivelled to where she continued to fixate on the small spot of blood on my shirt. Now was my chance. With speed that rivalled even Rose, I swatted the stake out of her loosened grasp, hearing it clatter on the floor. Her body responded instantly and she lunged for it but I held her close, my arms wrapped securely around her waist and trapping her arms at her sides. She made a frustrated wail as she squirmed my chest but I refused to budge.

"No way, Rose. I'm not letting near that stake." I felt a smile tug at my face in spite of the sickening situation- I had her now. That was, at least until she head butted me.

I swore colourfully and clutched my forehead. Taking advantage of distraction, Rose lunged out of my reach and made a break for the stake but I grabbed her ankle and yanked her back none too gently, causing her to smack to the floor.

"Oh for god's sake." I said as I dragged her backwards, her fingernails clawing at the floor. At the same time, I scooted my own body forward

"You are not going anywhere! Please, Rose. Please." My last plea came out as a rasp.

"I…I…" she tried to speak, and I sucked in a breath. She seemed to be choking on her words, and her desperate expression tugged at my heart painfully.

"Come back to me. Fight it- don't fight me, fight _him. _Know that I love you and _annihilate him." _I said, holding her once again to the floor underneath me.

"I…I d-don't know _how." _She cried, her still fightingto escape my clutches. My eyes flitted across her face and I pursed my lips. What would make her reconnect? Huffing in frustration, we both sat for a moment, staring at each other as we desperately tried to formulate some sort of solution. Of course, I could just knock her out, but then we were faced with the problem of dealing with the strigoi. If I could take on the strigoi I would then have to carry her out of wherever we were which would be a major setback…

A sudden idea struck me, and I was extremely tempted to try it. It had worked for Rose before…

**RPOV **

His eyebrows shot up as he surveyed my face, and I felt newfound hope. He couldn't have made his sudden realisation more obvious if a light bulb had appeared above his head, and for that I was grateful. I was willing to try _anything. _Time was running low, and we only had a matter of time before the stake was confiscated and Desmond just killed Dimitri himself. The only problem we faced was every time Dimitri loosened his hold on me, we were faced with the mild issue of me trying to kill him. I tried desperately to supress the dejected feeling of hopelessness that resided in my chest, and I thoroughly welcomed the change of heart his apparent idea gave me.

I steeled myself for whatever he was about to try and tried not to anticipate his move. It was mind boggling. Trying not to think about what he was about to do automatically had me thinking about it. _Don't expect anything. Think about something else. Think about…_

Dimitri was kissing me.

I froze, my whole body going rigid underneath him. I sucked in a breath but stayed stiff as a board as he pressed his lips to mine. His hands released their hold on mine and they moved to my shoulders, and my body was too confused to respond my immediately by trying to a, kiss him back, or b, kill him. When I tried to do the former, my body refused to respond, trying to pull me in the direction of the latter. It was like a physical tug of war- my body was torn between the two- one that was as natural as breathing and one that had been thrust upon me by crushing force. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out which was which.

But still as I remained unresponsive he continued to pepper my face and neck with kisses. When I still didn't make a move he growled and pulled back to look at me.

"Kiss me back, Rose." He rumbled. "Kiss. Me. Back." He punctuated each word with a kiss to both of my cheeks and nose. His hands slid up to my face and his thumbs stroked my cheek bones.

"Please." He whispered, leaning his forehead against mine so our noses touched. My breathing was laboured as I waged the mental battle. Kiss or Kill. The mixed messages kept my body locked in place, and a sheen of sweat formed across my skin.

Kiss or Kill.

They weren't so different really. Both sparked from the innermost parts of the human spectrum of emotion. Both lit in a person from the spark of passion that burned like wildfire.

Kiss or Kill.

**DPOV**

It wasn't working. She wasn't responding. Damn it! Why couldn't I make this work- Rose had me like putty in her hands when _she _did it. Admittedly, she still hadn't tried to kill me.

I needed to try something different.

I knotted my fingers into her hair and pulled her towards me.

"What do I have to do to get through to you?" I growled. "I'm not giving up on you."

I lifted her head and slammed it back onto the ground, trying to shock her out of her trance like state. It was scaring me.

She cried out in pain, her head arching back. I took the opportunity to crush my mouth back onto hers, and it achieved the desired effect. She squeaked, and I propped myself up on my elbows, which rested on either side of her head.

"Come _on, _Roza." I said as I grabbed the front on her shirt and pulled us both to our feet. Pushing her forward, I rammed her back against the wall and boxed her in. Her teeth were gritted and she looked at my feet. I grabbed her chin forced her to meet my eyes.

"I won't give up on you, so don't you dare give up on me. _Please Roza." _ I grabbed her shirt and pulled her away from the wall, only to jam her back up against it. She grunted upon the impact, but it was muffled my mouth on hers.

"_Please." _My voice cracked on my last plea, and I knew that this was it. I pressed one last desperate kiss to her lips, packing into it as much love as I could before I pulled her off of the wall one last time, preparing myself to slam her against the concrete just hard enough to render her unconscious.

I swallowed and prepared myself, tensing my arms to deliver the blow. 3...2...1…

_Whoosh…_

**Well, this chapter was incredibly long, and it wasn't even ****_close _****to being done to I have brutally severed it off here, and for that I am sorry. I'll try to update ASAP, but reviews will definitely speed the process along hint hint. **

**Oh and by the way, as an explanation for what you think just happened, just keep in mind that everything is not as it seems. (Mysterious I know)**

**So there are many more surprises to come, but PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. I seriously need some feedback for whether I did this chapter justice, and if I did PLEASE LET ME KNOW! If not then do the same, I would like to know. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: None of these characters or their History belongs to me. **

**This chapter will be a bit of a trip down memory lane for us all- this is very out-of-the-blue, and you may not have any idea what's going on or how this happened, but that is intentional. Dimitri and Rose don't even know what's happening but all will be revealed sooner rather than later. **

**RPOV**

I had prepared myself to feel the impact of my head on the concrete, but when it should have, no pain came.

Maybe I was already unconscious. Maybe I was dead. I allowed myself a second to process the situation before bracing myself.

I opened my eyes, and I found myself in an alley way. It was so familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on when I'd seen it before. Stepping out into the light, I set out briskly on the pathway. I was trying to keep myself inconspicuous- there was someone I needed to find.

"They're coming your way, Guardian Belikov." A voice crackled in my ear, and I jolted. Guardian _Belikov?_ I realised with a start that the body I inhabited was not my own, my emotions and responses were not those of Rose Hathaway.

I, or rather, Dimitri, slipped back into another alley way and pressed himself against the concrete wall, waiting for the two missing teens to pass by. He wondered with apprehension how the hell they had evaded the clutches of the Academy.

"We've got visuals on them. They're approaching the intersection of Brown and Boudreaux, from the north." A woman voiced, and he tensed, stepping out once again onto the footpath but this time to block the path of two figures moving hurriedly along the road, one stumbling and relying heavily on the other.

Me and Lissa, I thought, and my suspicions were confirmed when they neared. I surveyed myself, looking at my weak and stumbling form, the blood on my neck being the cause of my drugged state. I looked quite pathetic, to be frank.

Dimitri didn't think so. His eyes swept my body, my neck which inhabited bleeding marks and came to rest on my face. From my file, he'd assumed I was nothing more than a juvenile delinquent, but as his eyes came to rest on mine and he saw the fire that burned in them, the fierce desire to protect the fair blond form behind me, he knew that there was more to the wild girl who stood in front of him.

He stepped forward and the memory version of Rose lashed out. Clumsy, so clumsy. My actions had been rash and messy, and Dimitri had no problem halting my attack with a half-hearted block. He was dumbfounded by my actions. This was not what he had expected- but the look in my eyes told him all he needed to know. As I shielded Lissa with my weak body, he realised the lengths I would go to keep his hands off of Lissa.

My aggression was palpable, my intensity shining out of my eyes_._

_ She's Beautiful_, Dimitri realised with a start._ Beautiful and Dangerous._

The scene dissolved, and before I had time to puzzle out what was going on, I found myself at the Academy, leaning against the tree outside the gym. I was still in Dimitri's body, feeling his thoughts and experiencing his emotions. To say it was a bizarre experience was an understatement.

He watched me jog around the track, my feet pounding on the hard surface. My hair was in a sleek ponytail, long dark hair streaming out behind me as I ran. Dimitri stared at the dark locks, watching the sun glint off the them as my hair bounced in time with my steps.

My running self hadn't noticed his presence, and he took pleasure in watching me with my guard down. There was no mask of sarcasm or quips: It was just Rose. He'd come out here to push me along, but when he saw me running with a thoughtful and determined expression he'd realised he didn't need to.

His eyes drifted away from my face to my legs, and his eyes widened when he himself noticed his actions. If I had been able to, I would have laughed at his flustered state upon catching himself. Spinning on his heels, he quickly retreated inside. If I didn't know better, I would have said he was hiding…

In a flash of white light, the gym once again disappeared and I found myself storming up a set of stairs. Dimitri was furious. And I mean _murderous. _

He all but thundered up the stairs and came to a door, and I realised with a pang which memory this was. He took a shuddering breath and worked to keep his face blank of anything other than guardian fury, but as he tore the door open, practically ripping it off its hinges, he knew that his anger went beyond that.

Seeing Rose on that couch with the Zeklos Boy made him feel more than he should have. I felt a jolt of guilt when I identified his mess of emotion. _Betrayal. _He felt it, and I felt it with him. He knew his betrayal was misguided, and he tried to justify it with the excuse that he was angry because I was throwing away my responsibility and wasting my potential. Both of us knew that his reaction went deeper than that.

(((O)))

**DPOV**

I was extremely disorientated.

One second, I was trying to render Rose unconscious and the next I was _in her head. _I felt her emotions as my own and we moved as one. I'd felt her first reaction to me when she'd first seen me, and felt her tear through her emotions for me over that first year of mentoring.

Now, I was in her room, sitting on her bed. Janine stood absently pottering around her room while Rose sat awkwardly waiting for her to initiate some sort of conversation. Rose listened half-heartedly to her mother's attempt at small talk, well, that was until she heard her mention my name.

Her head snapped up, and as her mother continued to speak about Tasha's offer Rose went numb all over. As the words began to sink in, the pain in her chest become all but unbearable. Her self-esteem plummeted as she considered the offer- _why would he turn it down? It would be perfect for him. _I wanted to reassure her, but of course that was not how this was working. I was experiencing her memories as _her, _and in this memory I was the one causing her pain.

The realisation made me sick, and I felt the pain alongside Rose as her heart was ripped out of her chest and turned to dust as she sat on the bed.

_He could give her children. He could make her happy... _She thought bitterly, and I considered with a wrench that this could be where her guilt over the matter of children had stemmed from.

The room around us disintegrated and it took me a second to place where I had ended up. It seemed as though Rose was in a nightclub, and I opened myself to her, letting her emotions wash over me like a wave. There was a distinct loneliness that resided within her, despite the room being filled with people. Determination was the most obvious, and her eyes scanned the room until they locked on her target.

A strigoi stood mingling with the rest of the crowd, and his head was bent over a young human woman. She laughed at what he was saying, and he reached down and took her hand, pulling her towards the back exit.

Rose counted to three before getting up from her seat, her chair scraping along the floor. She wove her way through the crowd, pushing off dismissively the drunk sweaty males that tried to 'subtly' push up against her while they were dancing. I noticed with a start that she spoke to them in stilted American tainted Russian. She pushed her way through the doors, her eyes roaming the streets. She looked over her shoulder as she was joined by two other Dhampirs, who looked to her with a mix of fear and awe. She jerked her chin towards the alley way, and the three of them crept up to the narrow strip of darkness cautiously, the two younger Dhampirs flanking her.

I couldn't puzzle out what this was- surely this wasn't a memory of Rose's? My musings were interrupted when she sprang with dizzying speed, colliding with the strigoi who was varying between kissing and biting the young human girl. Her stake raked across his shoulder he roared in pain, triggering a jolt of cruel satisfaction in Rose. Her two allies and her jumped the unsuspecting Strigoi and was quickly joined by another two. Between them all they had the strigoi pinned to the floor, his chest exposed to Rose's poised stake.

"Do you know Dimitri Belikov? I'm looking for a strigoi, Dimitri Belikov." She growled at the captive strigoi, and one of the Dhampirs repeated her words fluently in Russian. The strigoi hesitated, then shook his head with a snarl.

"No." he spat, and no sooner than the word had crossed his lips than a member of the group plunged a stake through his heart. The group made their move to leave, and Rose put a phone to her ear.

I caught a handful of her words as the alley way disappeared, falling away and leaving her voice echoing in my head.

"Sydney? We've got another one…"

Before I had time to ponder her words, I found myself tearing up a feral bridge, my muscles screaming as I pumped my arms faster, faster.

_Not fast enough, _Rose thought in panic. _I'm not going to make it. _

Her feet pounded on the unyielding surface of the concrete, tendrils of vine reaching out to caress her legs as she soared past them, pulling her exhausted body endlessly up.

My own stomach turned as I gained my Barings, placing the situation at hand. I knew if I were able to turn around, I would come face to face with my worst nightmare.

I would see myself.

The memory past in a blur, seemingly moving in fast forward until we reached that crucial moment- the moment where we both teetered on the precipice of death. The moment I should have died.

What I had been unable to see that day was the stake poised above my heart, waiting to strike. As Rose's thoughts engulfed me, I noticed something that I had never before considered. Since I had been restored, I had tried to keep my mind off of the time I spent here in Russia, specifically the time I spent with Rose. However, the mind was a cruel thing and if I managed to keep the memories at bay in my waking hours, it would only be so they could creep back in the darkest parts of the night.

Through all this time, all the time spent agonising over my treatment of Rose, I had always had the impression that the monster she saw here was me. After all, it _was _me- down to the love of western novels and small habits ingrained from childhood that only she took any notice of. But as she spoke words of love before plunging a stake into my heart, I knew that she spoke them to the man I was before I became the twisted creature in front of her. That monster was not me- as much as it wasn't Rose that tried to destroy Jesse and killed Viktor.

I watched as my strigoi form plummeted into the inky water beneath the bridge, and just as Rose had that night on the Bridge, I let go of what I had been holding onto, accepting that the strigoi that had fallen was not Dimitri Belikov, but a foul twisted creature wearing my skin like a mask that hid what was truly beneath.

((((O))))

**RPOV**

Dimitri's foot pressed solidly up against the accelerator, mashing the pedal violently into the floor as he fought to keep his frenzy internal. I could feel his rising desperation and frustration- there was only so fast a car could travel and for Dimitri that was nowhere near fast enough.

I shuffled through his thoughts, a sensation all too familiar for me after years of inhabiting Lissa's mind as well as my own. It was entirely similar yet totally different. After a brief investigation I discovered the source behind his agitation- me.

We were in Spokane- and Dimitri was racing to get to me.

His mind was clouded with what could only be identified as raw fear. The reports from the Moroi girl who had made the call had been that they had all gotten out, all bar one who had staged a distraction. Dimitri didn't take even a second to consider who that would have been- he already knew. As much as he tried to deny it, he knew without a doubt that it was me who had stayed behind.

He ground his teeth and beat his head against the back of the leather chair, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles stood stark white against the normal pallor of his skin. He felt like he was letting me down, not being there, and he couldn't shake away the voice in his head that whispered that it might be too late. The thought hit him hard, and he threatened to break.

When he finally pulled up outside the address they had been given, along with the barrage of guardian SUVs that accompanied me, he cut the engine and all but ripped the car door off its hinges. As the guardians ahead flooded into the building, their weapons poised, Dimitri struggled to gain composure before running to the door.

Murmurings of a killed novice circulated and his heart stopped. Pushing through his colleagues, paying little mind to courtesy as he struggled to see for himself.

Blood.

There was blood everywhere, and as my eyes swept the room, Dimitri found three lifeless bodies. Two mangled, mutilated strigoi lay hacked on the rich carpeted floor, and another two figures were huddled together, surrounded by a circle of Guardians. My own memories of the event came crashing back, refreshing the sense of grief that I had felt on that day.

We approached the group of huddled Dhampirs, all keeping their distance from the two blood soaked figures on the floor. It was only a second later that Dimitri saw why- I lay sprawled over Mason's chest, wielding a blunt sword in my shaking hand as I sobbed and clung to his shirt.

He felt an immense sense of relief course through him, as well as an undercurrent of guilt over its presence when the lifeless form of Mason lay just metres away. His relief immediately resided, however, when he took in the distraught expression plastered over my face. It quickly developed into dread when my state became apparent- I had lost my grasp on reality.

The others looked to Dimitri for guidance, and he hardened his resolve. I felt his determination as he strode forward, willing himself to be strong, for my sake. He wrapped his arm around my hysterical figure, whispering nonsensical soothing words into my ear as he pried me away from Mason.

It tore at him to think that he had lost me- that the brutal scene had all but mutilated my sanity. _She needs me, _he thought to himself as he pulled me from the room, his arms still encircling my body protectively. It slowly became apparent to him how much he would do for the girl in his arms- how much he would give up for her happiness. How much he loved me- _had _loved me all along. The revelation struck him like an arrow to the chest as he realised too late how much he had to lose in me.

The setting faded away slowly and gave away to the Court room, where Dimitri watched with horror as the memory version of Rose threw herself in front of Lissa. He surged forward, but we both knew it was too late as my body jerked on the impact of the bullet, curling in on itself as a flower of blood bloomed from the wound in my chest.

Dropping to his hands and knees, he crawled forward through the chaos to come to my side, hovering above my face. The turmoil of helpless panic swirled in his mind and was overpowering, and everything around him slowed down. The sounds of hurried commands and yells became a wall of white noise, his vision blurring around the central focus of his eyes.

_No, no, no no no no, please no, _I heard him chant silently, begging to some unseen force for this to all be a night-mare. He met my eyes, which were filled with the full depth of my soul, displaying openly what my dying body couldn't communicate in words.

Now gasping for breath, the eyelids of my dying self began to droop, and his panic doubled, he too gasping ragged and shaking breaths in as he desperately called for help. The gaping wound in my chest expelled blood at a tremendous rate, and his hands flitted over it.

For myself, I knew that that day just his presence was enough. Having both him and Lissa there meant everything to me- it meant I could die the way I was always meant to. But to him, he was as helpless as a child- he didn't know what to do, how to do it.

He was drowning in a sea of emotions that threatened to pull him under and as he watched me slip through his fingers, and he couldn't see past the cruel unfairness of it all. Was the world really just too cruel to allow love like the one we shared to burn uninterrupted?

As the hand of death pulled me back to the frigid depths from which I had once escaped, he knew it would not be so careless as to release me from its grasp without a fight. What he wouldn't give to take my place, to be the one dying on the floor rather than the one holding my hand as I struggled for breath. _Surely she couldn't be so cruel as to leave me alone in this world_, he thought. _How sardonic would it be, that the moment I realised that what I had needed all along was her, and now death would snatch her away from me to punish me for taking advantage of her love._

Staring into my eyes, where he saw love and forgiveness, he vowed if he were to be given a second chance, he would not squander it- he would embrace life and all its beauty, loving me fully, forcefully and wholeheartedly.

With a sense of finality, my form on the floor dissipated to give way to another Rose, this one healthy and well. Dimitri's mind told me he was creeping in during the late hours of the night after a patrol shift with Mikhail. He slipped off his shoes and placed them quietly and carefully next to where my own shoes had been kicked off haphazardly. Next, he shrugged off his shirt and slid under the sheets next to me, the bed sinking slightly under his weight. I stirred in my sleep, but remained dead to the world.

I expected him to go straight to sleep as he seemed to have a knack for, but Dimitri's mind stayed awake as he stared at the ceiling, and his thoughts circulated. He reached over the table beside him and took a long pull from the glass of water at his bedside, his mind unsure. It took me only a second to uncover why, and if I had been able to, I would have spat the water out all over the floor.

Dimitri was trying to decide how to ask me to marry him.

He lay back down, and my semi-conscious self leaned over to pull him closer.

"What's the matter- Why aren't you sleeping?" I murmured, my voice muffled by his chest.

"I love you, Roza. So, so much." He answered truthfully, and I shifted my face up to look at his face, my own face full of incredulity.

"Are you trying to get laid?" I asked, and he chuckled, pulling me closer.

"No." he whispered, letting the room fall into silence. He kept his arms wrapped around me, and for a moment my breathing has steadied enough that he'd though I'd fallen back into my deep sleep.

"I love you too." My voice came sleepily, barely audible.

This time, as our bedroom faded away I knew I would not find myself in another memory. The haze like appearance of the dream gave way to sharper clarity, the illusion of warmth in the dream disappearing.

As I snapped back to reality, my breath coming in gasps I was greeted with the sensation that while it had felt like hours had past, the flood gate of memories had passed in only a few seconds. Dimitri's mouth stood agape, his eyes wide in a mirror of my own expression.

There was no movement, no sound other than that of our laboured breathing- we both just waited for some sort of reaction from the other as we tried to process what had just happened. Then, as one, we both surged forward intent on the other's lips, everything else forgotten.

Teeth clicked as we connected, desperate to express the all-consuming emotions that filled our emotional capacity to the brink. I was the first to break away for air, and as I came to terms with what was happening, and what _had_ happened, I buried my face in his chest and wept.

There is a sacredness in tears.

They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

They speak more eloquently than ten

thousand tongues.

They are messengers of overwhelming grief...

and unspeakable love.

- Washington Irving

**Please hang in there with this chapter, I understand it is completely out of the blue and you won't have any idea where it came from until the next chapter where all will be revealed. **

**HINT: IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH SPIRIT MAGIC! ;) **

**Thanks for reading, let me know what you think please! Your reviews help me improve my writing, and after all that's really what I'm doing this for. **

**This chapter was mostly for Rose's benefit, to give her the strength to pull away from the binds that held her, but it was also an important step for Dimitri in realising that he wasn't the one that tortured Rose. Yes, I realise by now he has forgiven himself, but seeing it from Rose's perspective allowed him to see that there wasn't really anything he had to forgive himself for- he wasn't the one behind his actions. Hope that helps you see what I was going for with that bit. **

**Please Review, **

**xo**


	14. Chapter 13

**RPOV**

"Rose?" he whispered when my tears stopped coming, his voice unsure.

I opened my eyes to look at him, and his face radiated concern.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked in a taut voice, and he just shook his head in reply as his hand came up to brush my cheek.

"We've got to get moving." His brow furrowed as he glanced at the doorway, where Desmond could emerge any second.

I exhaled and nodded hastily, pulling away from his and wiping my eyes, embarrassed.

"Okay, I think our best course of action is to jump him when he walks in the door- it's risky but it's the best we can do, I suppose." He stated, surveying the door.

"Or…" I started, and he glanced up, looking worried but determined. "Or we could pretend it went according to his plan, that way, we'll have more of an advantage. Pretend that you're dead, that I killed you. Make him think he won to distract him." I suggested.

His eyebrows shot up in consideration, but he immediately shook his head.

"You'll be defenceless- what if he sees through it?"

I considered this. "Well, then we'll divert to plan B and just fight him. But this way, if it falls through we have something to fall back on. If the 'jump him' plan doesn't work, we're screwed. This way would be safer in the long run." I insisted.

"But not safer for you." He said flatly.

"I'll be okay. I promise. I'll have the element of surprise- he thinks he can still control me." I reminded him striding forward with my stake in hand. I pressed it into his hand and brushed my nose against his in reassurance. Then, the way I always did, I tried to lighten the mood.

"Now play dead." I ordered, a smile playing on my lips. The corner of Dimitri's own mouth pulled up in his own weak smile. He turned the stake on himself, pushing it against his chest.

"_What are you doing?" _I shrieked, the air rushing out of my lungs.

"Relax, Rose. I need an Injury for your plan to work, don't I?" He asked. I hadn't considered that. Maybe we could think of something else… Too late.

He tore the stake through his shirt, raking it across his skin and drawing copious amounts of blood. I whimpered at the sight of the gash glaring at me, and he let out a low growl in pain, his jaw strained.

Knowing what need to be done, I approached him again, where he was settling himself in a corner away from the door, where the shadows would hide him from the strigoi but he still had a good vantage point. The gash was still oozing blood, and I ran my fingertips around it, careful to keep my touch away from the cut itself. He let out a hiss of pain but stayed still from his point on the floor. Keeping my eyes off his face, I pressed my hands to his sodden shirt, coating my own hands in blood. For good measure, I smeared some of it on my clothes and repressed a shudder.

Dimitri's blood stained my hands red.

I could have been in the same situation, in another more sickening, horrific scenario had Dimitri not broken through to me. I still didn't know what had happened- I was trying to focus on the situation at hand and stowed the mystery in the Rose-will-investigate-this-later box. If there was a later.

I glanced over at where Dimitri lay sprawled on the floor, looking lifeless. His chest barely moved, and I had to stare at scrutinise his body to see any hint of breath. A strigoi would see through his façade effortlessly, if they were focusing enough- it would be my job to make sure that didn't happen.

In the corner opposite Dimitri, I tucked in on myself, curling into a foetal position. My heart raced in anticipation, and I thought long and hard about how I was going to play this out- the plan revolved around my ability to fool Desmond.

I was a warrior- my whole life had revolved around my ability to fight, to defend myself. But acting?

Okay. Focus.

I had to put out the image that I was broken on the inside, my will crushed and by fire snuffed out. I had to pretend I had slaughtered the man I loved.

I summoned up the grief in my mind's eye, visualising, picturing. The only way I was going to be able to make Desmond believe was if I believed it myself, and so over and over in my head I replayed the image of Dimitri's dead body in my mind, letting the emotions wash over me, engulf me. As strange as it was, it wasn't hard to do. The fear of losing both him and Lissa laid buried under the surface as a constant presence, and the content of my nightmares was all too real.

I glanced over at Dimitri, who was watching me intently.

"Ready?" I asked, and he hesitated for a half a second before nodding in reply.

I opened my mouth and took a deep breath, preparing myself to let my loudest wail tear through my lungs when Dimitri held up his hand.

"Wait!" he called, and I froze, holding my breath with my mouth open. "I love you."

I paused for a second, letting silence fill the room before I let the scream go.

The most tormented, agony filled cry pierced the air. I called and cried, the pitches emanating from my mouth varying from high pitched to low and guttural.

It wasn't long before the sound of footsteps resounded from the doorway, and a presence paused at the door. With a last furtive glance to Dimitri, I put my head in my hands and rocked myself.

The door pushed open with a metallic scrape, and Desmond entered. His glance immediately sought out Dimitri, and when he found him he licked his lips, his eyes bright with monstrous hunger. I choked out an animalistic sob and, as intended, his attention turned to me.

"Ahh, Rose. Sweet Rose." He sighed, holding out his arms openly as if he wished to embrace me.

"Come to me."

I crawled on my hands and knees to his feet, and he looked down at me, helpless, with glory and triumph in his eyes and a lust for power emanating from him.

He was drunk on his victory, and I was so ready to exploit that.

"Rise." He commanded, and I did so, still choking on fake sobs.

His hand came up to my jaw and he ran his finger-tips down to my throat then along my collar bone, and I tilted my head back in compliance. His face came forward to rest in the crook of my jaw, and I desperately held back my gagging.

I watched Dimitri stand excruciatingly slowly over Desmond's shoulder, my heart rate increased and Desmond sensed it. He chuckled, inhaling deeply in my hair. I grit my teeth in response and had to physically repress myself from kneeing him in the groin.

The look of disgust on Dimitri's face mirrored my own feelings, but his was underline with a hint of vulnerability.

"I'm yours." I whispered, watching him approach Desmond silently with his stake poised.

"Mine." Desmond repeated in a breathy voice in my ear, and Dimitri's face darkened, his jaw tensing.

A barely audible growl came from Dimitri's throat, but Desmond tensed beside me in reaction to the soft noise.

_"Mine."_ Dimitri spat, before driving the stake forward with bloodlust in his eyes.

Before the stake could find its purchase, the door blasted off its hinges and filled the room with a deafening bang that ricocheted off the walls. The scene that unfolded was chaotic- Desmond was thrown against the wall, slamming into it with a sickening crack.

I sprang back, out of the path of where Dimitri's stake threatened to impale me. He turned to me with wide eyes and pulled the stake away, then both of us turned to see Marius standing in the doorway, a menacing presence. His eyes were verging on black as stared at Desmond, who remained flattened against the wall by some unseen presence.

_"Enough!" _he snarled. "Tell me where my family is you sick, twisted, vile _scum of the earth_."

His voice was commanding, authoritative- he left no room for question as he roared at the strigoi. Dimitri and I both backed ourselves into the wall as a swirling wind ripped through the air, tossing my hair and tugging at my clothes.

Marius strode forward, his stance more confident than I had ever seen- he was a different person. He was a dangerous person. Dimitri stepped forward from where he stood beside me, towards where Desmond remained pinned to the wall like a mounted butterfly.

Marius glanced up, and his gaze zeroed in on the stake in his hand.

"_No!" _he cried. "I need him alive."

I exchanged a glance with Dimitri, and there was an unspoken agreement about how we were going to play this out. I stepped towards Marius, who was weakening by the second and Dimitri strode towards where Desmond was gradually breaking free of his invisible bind.

"Marius, please. I need you to calm down." I said gently, taking baby steps towards him.

"No, No… I need him alive, to find my family. I need to find my wife, my _baby." _He sobbed, falling to his knees.

I quickened my pace and moved towards him, dropping to his level and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know- we aren't going to kill him." I said, shooting a look at Dimitri who had indeed been about to do just that. His head snapped up, and looking at me for half a second before nodding, his mouth set in a grim line. I hated to do this to him, but neither of us were going to abandon Marius in his current state.

Instead of driving the stake into Desmond's heart, Dimitri pierced his abdomen. Desmond roared and coughed up blood, it spilling into his chin. It wouldn't kill him, but it would certainly prevent him from fighting back. I turned away in disgust, putting my back to the two blood sodden men.

"Marius? It's going to be okay now. We're going to get back your family, alright? But I need you to calm down. You need to let go of the spirit taint." I urged, and he eyed me suspiciously.

"How can I know I can trust you?" He asked quietly, his voice crackling with desperation.

"You can't." I replied. "But you don't have a choice."

He exhaled noisily and swallowed, sitting in silence for a few seconds. Then, he nodded and put his face in his hands. I shifted from a squat, sitting myself onto the floor and putting an arm around him hesitantly in attempt at reassuring him, providing him with some comfort. God knows how long it had been since he had been touched without malice or cruelty, and so I rubbed slow circles on his back and mumbled nonsensical soothing noises, trying to cover the sound of Dimitri's hissing and Desmond's snarled responses.

Slowly, the tension eased out of his body, and I stood up and pulled him to his feet.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked Dimitri, who paused his interrogation to nod at me.

I put my arm once again around Marius's shoulder and led him out of the door-less exit. Under normal circumstances, I would have had to have been dragged away from Dimitri by my hair, but the injuries the Strigoi had attained were once that rendered him near comatose. He was on the verge of being paralysed, and it would take at least ten minutes for him to recover enough to fight.

He didn't have that long left to live.

"Desmond is the only strigoi here?" I asked Marius, who nodded in affirmation. "Any humans? Prisoners?"

"Not anymore." He croaked, and I grimaced.

Aside from the various cells, the house appeared to be as ordinary as it could be under the circumstances. While still lavish, it was understated. The rooms gave off a vibe of coldness- the quaint home lacked the presence of any warmth or love.

I placed Marius in the living and scouted the house despite his reassurance. I scoured every room thoroughly, taking the time to raid for supplies on my second search.

When I returned to where I had left Marius, Dimitri had emerged and was standing in the corner of the room, his eyes fixed on the floor in front of him. I discharged my armful of supplies to the floor and sought him out, reaching up to his cheek.

"Hey." I breathed. "How are you doing?"

He inhaled and blinked slowly, meeting my gaze. "I'm fine."

"Okay. Now tell me how you're really doing." I said with a ghost of a smile, which he returned.

"I'm okay. Really- now." He said, resting his head against mine.

I nodded and gave his waist a small squeeze before stepping away from him and rummaging through my supply pile, pulling out a pair of trousers and a T-shirt that looked roughly his size. I didn't really want him wandering around in blood soaked clothes as a reminder for him what he'd been through.

I eased his shirt off, and he gritted his teeth. Assessing the wound, I readdressed the pile of supplies and pulled out a variety of medical supplies that I has scavenged from a dusty cupboard. I pulled out a bandage and wrapped it around his torso carefully while he watched on with an expression of mild amusement at my fussing.

When the wound was covered, I planted a kiss to his shoulder and turned my face up to him.

"Better?" I asked and he smiled. I grabbed the set of clothes and handed them to him and he took them, backing away into a hallway to swap them for his own.I pulled a blanket from the spoils and turned back to Marius, draping it over his shoulders and sitting down next to him, where he remained stock still.  
"We're going to do everything we can." I said to him, and he snapped out of his trance like state to glance up at me.

"Thankyou," he said, "I just don't know if it's going to be enough."

Dimitri emerged from the hallway barely a minute later, his expression determined.

"He's keeping them about a day's drive away from here, in Akademgorodok." He said, his eyes on me. I nodded slowly.

"Anything else?" I asked and he continued on.

"Guarded by humans. Two of them. Two story building. The Strigoi's dead."

I stared at the floor for a moment as I processed his words, and considered what we about to lay on the line for a total stranger. Then again, that seemed to be our specialty.

"We're going to need a car."

**Hope you liked it! Please review it helps me improve my writing and motivates me. Let's get 100 reviews lovely readers. **

**xo**


	15. Chapter 14

"_Rose?" _

"Hey, Sydney. I need you to get some of your pals to dispose of… something. Oh, and I just wanted to give you the heads up- we are, ah, _borrowing _a car." I said sheepishly.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked in a weary tone.

"Well, the person we are borrowing it from doesn't know about it yet." I listened to her sigh heavily on the other end of the line. I wouldn't have bothered telling her about it unless there was another reason for the call.

"But, yeah. We've left a strigoi body in a house near Vanakova." I said quickly.

"Vankovka." Dimitri corrected from the driver's seat.

"Vankovka." I amended.

"Russia? A _house? _Like a _people _house!?" she spluttered, and I let a small smile grace my features.

"Relax. No- the place was remote. I don't think anyone was within the near vicinity. And it was the Strigoi's den, not a human home." I assured her, and she went quiet at the end of the line so I continued on.

"Dimitri has rough co-ordinates… I just didn't want someone to stumble upon the house and find a decomposing body." I gave her the co-ordinates and then disconnected with a sigh.

Out the window, the road was seemingly endless. The surrounding scenery consisted of little more than farmland, as it had for the last two hours of driving.

Marius sat silent in the backseat, and I was quite sure he'd drifted off into a fitful sleep. I was glad he could find some respite from his torment- there was no telling what would await him once we reached his family. He was clinging to the hope that they were alive and well, as were Dimitri and I for his sake, but it was a very real possibility that Desmond had been bluffing.

I looked up when I heard Dimitri humming softly as he looked at the road ahead of us, and I smiled slightly when I recognised the song. It was a favourite of his, one he continuously had playing in the background.

I closed my eyes and listened until he got to the chorus where I sang to the familiar melody quietly.

_It's my life  
It's now or never  
I ain't gonna live forever  
I just want to live while I'm alive  
(It's my life)  
My heart is like an open highway  
Like Frankie said  
I did it my way  
I just wanna live while I'm alive  
It's my life _

He stopped and looked at me in astonishment and I laughed.

"What?"

"I just didn't think Bon Jovi was part of your repertoire, that's all." He said, watching me appreciatively.

"Well…" I started guiltily, unsure of whether or not I wanted to reveal my reason for knowing quite a number of his favourite songs. He looked at me curiously and I glanced back out the window.

"When I, was ah, younger and much less mature and emotionally stable, I may or may not have possibly locked myself in my room and listened to your playlists while eating a copious amount of Jam donuts?" I said quickly, forgetting to mention the numerous times I've done so recently, on the occasions where he was away with Christian for longer periods of time.

He stared at me in silence for a second before breaking into a chuckle.

"Jam Donuts?"

"Yeah, I don't like them anymore. But that was _one day. _It's not something I'm proud of." I waved my hand dismissively.

"I did the same thing." He said quietly, and my jaw dropped. The image of Dimitri listening to _my _music while acting like an angsty teen popped into my head, but the image just didn't fit- it was like milk and oranges- it just didn't _work. _

"Well, not exactly. It was when we were at court, and ah… after that, also. But when I went out by myself, I'd find myself ordering _your _favourite foods, or putting the radio on _your _channels. It went on for a lot longer than a day, too…" A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he looked, I swear, _bashful. _

I considered this information and with a smile, then continued to sing as though neither of us had said anything.

But we had.

((((O))))

It's a peculiar thing, being on the road for hours. Time seems to have very little meaning- you could be day dreaming for what feels like an hour but when you look at the clock only minutes have ticked by. In the same way, you could find yourself dozing off accidentally and suddenly an hour has been snatched away.

Once again, I let the steady rocking of the car lull me into a sleep, but this time instead of blank oblivion, I found being drawn into a spirit dream.

I beamed when I saw him, genuinely pleased to have his company.

He didn't return the smile, however, but looked down at his feet grimly.

"I'm sorry I didn't come last night. I feel terrible… but I had to make sure it was true before I upset you." He said, looking up at me through the hair falling in his eyes.

My smile faltered, and I approached him warily, my heart beating.

"What do you mean? What happened?" I asked. _Lissa? _

"Rose… Dimitri's disappeared. Whatever your Strigoi was planning… well, it must have worked." He looked distressed, and watched me carefully.

I let his words sink in then let my relief wash over me.

"Oh, oh thank _god._ Don't scare me like that! I thought you were going to tell me Lissa…" I heaved a sigh of relief and laughed breathlessly, putting my hand to my heart. Meanwhile, Adrian watched me as if I'd completely lost the plot.

"Rose, I don't think you understand… Dimitri's been taken." He emphasized, watching me in bewildered horror.

"No, it's fine. He's okay. _We're _okay. We got ourselves out of there." I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly with a faint smile on my lips, realising the full impact of my words: we were _free_. His footsteps approached and he wrapped me in a tight hug, and I rested my head on his shoulder gratefully.

"So you- you're both coming home?" he asked exuberantly.

"Umm… well, no. Not yet." I said, and he stepped away to look at me but I avoided his gaze.

"Why not?" he demanded, still trying to meet my eyes.

"There's someone we need to help first." I said quietly, think of Marius. At this Adrian sighed and nodded, running his hand through his hair and making it stick up haphazardly.

"Could you do me a favour and not mention anything to Lissa? I don't want her to get her hopes up." I finally met his stare with my own, and his was weary. He rubbed his eyes and nodded, then looked up at me sadly and saluted.

"God speed, Little Dhampir." He said, and started to let the dream fade but I called to him at the last second.

"Adrian, wait! There's something I wanted to know." I said slowly, and he raised his eyebrows inquisitively as a gesture for me to go on.

"Why… that is, well, are we friends again?" I asked apprehensively, unsure as to whether or not I wanted the answer. He smiled crookedly and tilted his head to the side.

"I guess we are." He said bemusedly.

"What made you change your mind?" the question had been on the back of my mind since Adrian started showing up in my dreams, though it hadn't really taken priority until now.

"Well, I guess the fact that I thought you were going to die kind of pushed the process along a bit. That and I realised hating you was pointless and frankly, too hard to do. I still love you, but the way I love Lissa. It's different, but it's also not something that I wanted to lose in you."

I nodded but stayed silent, and as this time as he began to let the dream dissolve I didn't stop him. However, as I waited for sleep to immerse my spinning thoughts, it didn't come. I looked back up and he was still standing there, staring at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't decipher. I raised by eyebrows in question but he only continued to squint at me, frowning.

"Rose have you… have you been in contact with spirit magic?" he asked, clearly puzzled.

I started at his question, confused by the abrupt line of question. "Yeah, a Spirit User lost control of his telekinesis, why?"

"You're… glowing. Just now." He said, furrowing his brow and taking a few steps towards me.

"What do you-" I started, but as though a bucket of cold water were being tossed on my head I was snapped back to reality, where the world around me was spinning and the ear-splitting shriek of tires penetrated the air.

I was held motionless by the constricting grip of the seat belt, holding me in its solid embrace. There was too much to take in, too much to process. I squeezed my eyes shut as the sensory overload cloud my brain.

((((O))))

**DPOV**

_He held her close in his arms, his breath disturbing her soft hair and making it tickle her face. She closed her eyes and nuzzled his shoulder: feeling content, in love. Her mind swirled with perfect bliss, and she felt like she was where she belonged- it felt right. _

I was going to be sick. The love she felt, the contentment, the delight- it was for another man. A man who to her smelled pleasantly of clove cigars, had a milky pallor and deep green eyes. A man that wasn't me.

I had long since accepted Rose's past, but that didn't mean I need to _feel _it. Jealousy surged forward to the forefront of my mind, and I desperately supressed it, knowing full well that this was something she had moved on from. But, as his hand caressed her face lightly, I knew without a doubt that it was more than I could stand to be in her head while she felt this for him.

Reality was so far away, a distorted, watery film in the farthest corner of my mind but I clawed for it desperately, trying to keep my head.

As I gradually began to pull away from Rose and her memory of Adrian, the sickening sense of wrong gave away to something rawer- something triggered by the sense of immense danger. The thought yanked me back into my own head, and in the seconds that had passed my control on the car had been completely obliterated.

I snapped into focus and took my foot off of the gas pedal, abruptly spinning the wheel in the direction of the skid to prevent the car from completely rolling over.

The vehicle slid to a stop, and the smell of burning rubber smothered me. I took a shuddering breath, and the only sound that disturbed the quiet rustling of the grass outside was that of heavy breathing. Without looking up, I reached out and felt for Rose's hand blindly as my eyes adjusted to the complete darkness.

"Roza?" I croaked desperately, and a soft exhale beside me let me know she was safe.

"What_ happened?_" Marius asked in a gravelly voice from behind us, and I shook my head despite the fact that neither of them could see me: the only light that breached the car was that of the stars in the moonless sky. I took a shuddering breath as I stilled by beating heart and tried again.

"I don't know _how _it happened- it was almost exactly like before…" I shook my head again in attempt to clear my thoughts, but only succeeded in making my head throb.

"Look, why don't we find a place to stay for the night- we'll find a motel somewhere. There's a town up there." She said, point to a shimmering cluster of lights further up the road. I hesitated, and as if sensing my thoughts she undid her seatbelt.

"I'll drive." She offered, and I nodded gratefully, sliding out of the car and letting her take my place in the driver's seat.

She drove slowly, her movements deliberate. I kept a steady eye on the wheel and the car, ready to interfere if she was sucked into a memory as I had been just moments before. I deliberated over what could have triggered the strange hallucination- it had the same texture as the one the two of us had experienced back in Vankovka and while both of us had had it on our minds, neither had been able to puzzle out the reasoning behind it.

At the time, we had just accepted it as something that has assisted us and moved on- in a fast pace environment you learned to do that, but now when we had time to reflect I pondered over the logistics of it. It just didn't make any _sense- _It was unheard of, though I hated to say impossible.

Rose weaved through the small town until she found a quaint motel that would serve our purpose, and she pulled in smoothly and cut the engine, letting the night fall into silence.

It was Marius that broke the silence, speaking up in an orotund voice.

"We'll stay here, tonight?"

I glanced and Rose and turned back to him with a nod.

"Just for the night. We'll leave early so we'll have enough daylight to scout and plan, then pull your family out. If everything goes the way it should, then we'll have them out by tomorrow night."

"Yes," he said, "but I have learnt not to expect for things to go the way they ought."

(((((O)))))

We checked into the hotel, reserving a double room with the meagre supply of cash we had scrounged from Desmond's home. It had just fallen night, and the three of us settled into the room, sitting in an uncomfortable silence for a few minuted before Rose spoke up.

"So, what happened back there? Is everything alright?" she asked me, her eyebrows pulled together in concern.

I swallowed my guilt and nodded- whatever had happened had endangered three lives, as well as put those of Marius's family in jeopardy.

"It was the same as what happed back at Vankovka- with the Memories. Only this time, it was just one memory and you clearly didn't experience any of mine at the same time." I said, and Marius froze at my words.

Rose slid down onto the bed and rested her head on her chin, her face twisted in perplexity.

"I don't understand what's going on." She stated, sounding miffed.

"How many times has this happened?" Marius spoke up and both of us turned to him with surprise. He'd been so quiet we'd barely even remembered he was there, but now his eyes flicked between the two of us with a mixed look of concern and something else I couldn't quite identify.

"Twice for me, once for Rose," I said, and Rose nodded as she continued on. "It happened about a nanosecond before he was about to knock me out. Both of us at the same time- why? Do you know something?"

He sucked on his lower lip as he stared between the two of us, waging some internal debate. He took a deep breath and looked down at his hands as if they held the answers to all his questions, then, seemingly making his decision, answered hesitantly.

"I think… Well, I don't think, I _know, _that it's something I have done. I only meant to help…" he wringed his hands with fervour as he spoke, still gnawing on his lip.

"What… what exactly _did _you do?" Rose asked gently, her head dipping to try to meet his lowered gaze.

"I wasn't in full control of the magic at the time, you see, so I don't understand what it is really that happened- I thought it might give Rose strength, to pull away from Desmond's compulsion." He rambled, in a way that was almost customary for Spirit users. While I hadn't seen Marius in anything other than his current haggard state, I suspected he was paying the price for over use of magic. Despite his instability, he had a gentle soul that drew both Rose and I to him, and made us more willing to go out of our way to help this lost and broken man.

"Just explain as best as you can so that we can understand." I coaxed, and he exhaled slowly and met my eyes with an intensity that caught me off guard.

"I saw what the two of you were like together. I could see the… connection. Like my wife and I, and so I thought, only _he _could pull you away from Desmond's commands." He said, turning to Rose. "And… and I didn't know if I was too late so I panicked."

"What I h-had intended to do was increase your awareness of each other- the link goes hand in hand so you both had to be involved. With my magic, I can touch people's minds. I don't expect you to believe me- it's unheard of. But I can, and, and I did- I tried to reach out to both of your minds and just touch them together but I wasn't in full c-control... I'm so sorry I hadn't intended for it to last, but it has, and…" He stuttered in a rushed voice, looking at us with pleading eyes as if begging for us to understand.

I exchanged a glance with Rose, who looked to Marius with an air of astonishment. He saw her disbelieving look and misunderstood, slumping his shoulders.

"I know it sound crazy… but I swear, it's all true." He assured in a hushed voice, almost as if he was trying to convince himself of his sanity more so than us.

"Marius. We know you're not lying about the magic." She consoled, but he once again mistook her meaning and his face hardened.

"I'm not deluded either, If that's what your implying. I've been through a lot, but not enough to make me hallucinate this vividly. I'm not insane." He said harshly.

I shook my head at his words, putting my hand up before he could prattle on about his sanity any longer.

"You misunderstand- we have experience, quite a lot of it, actually, with your magic. Spirit Magic." I said, and his look turned from defensive to one of disbelieving.

"Spirit Magic." He repeated, testing the words on his lips. "I didn't know there was a name for it… so, you mean, there are others?"

Both Rose and I opened our mouths to speak, but I let her handle the explanation- she'd lived with it for a far greater portion of her life. She started out with the basics, and I let him pummel her with questions for another half hour, a profound look of wonder shining from his face. I glanced down at my watch grimly, and interrupted their discussion by placing my hand on Rose's shoulder lightly.

"We need to be gone at dusk tomorrow." I reminded them gently, and they both looked up from their intent conversation with wide eyes.

"Of course." Marius said and stood abruptly, looking once again nerve wracked. He nodded to both of us before backing out of the room, headed for his own quaint area opposite the little kitchenette and leaving Rose and I in silence.

"Do we need someone on watch? We aren't exactly on anyone's hit list this time." She said as she shimmied out of her jeans and pulled the crisp sheets out from where they were neatly tucked. I chuckled and considered her words for a moment before shaking my head.

"No. We'll need our energy. It shouldn't be too difficult to bust Marius's family out but I don't want to take any chances. We need to be on our game." I said and she nodded in agreement.

Sighing deeply, she threw herself down on the bed and curled up under the sheets, looking up at me expectantly. For a moment I just stood there, then I slid into the bed and pulled her close. She relaxed against me, and I let my mind switch off, succumbing to the best sleep the two of us had had in what had felt like forever.

**By the way, I did my research and yes, all the places I talk about are real and the distances between them etc. None of the geographical information is made up- it really does take a day to drive from Vankovka to Akademgorodok, and you actually pass through Omsk to get from one to the other, and all the scenery I describe is from the real route.**

**I realise nothing really intense happens in this chapter and I'm sorry if that's disappointing, but we can't always have super action packed chapter otherwise it would get borderline ridiculous. **

**As always, please review it really really means a lot to me.**

**Thanks and until next week, **

**xo**


	16. Chapter 15

It was still dark when the alarm blared, disturbing the three of us from our contented sleep with a jolt. I swung out of bed and pulled together our gear quickly, while Rose frowned and rubbed her bleary eyes.

I left the room to let her get dressed and rouse Marius, but I found him already buzzing with fearful energy.

"How are you holding up?" I asked, apprehensive. I had enough experience to know the nauseating dread that precedes walking into the unknown fate of a loved one. I had no idea what state his already fragile mind was in, and the look on his face only amplified my suspicion that he was not coping with the trauma.

He stayed silent, and continued to stare at the floor as if it was solely responsible for his misfortune. I snatched the keys up from the table and he jumped at the metallic sound that disturbed the otherwise silent room. Not even the birds had begun to sing yet, and the world was still submerged in a state of darkness.

Unsure of how to approach him, I left Marius sitting in the living room and knocked softly on the door to the bedroom. Her voice came muffled from the other side of the door, and I pushed it open with a creak.

She finished tucking her hair into a tight bun, and then turned to me and tugged at my shirt. She laughed at my stunned expression as she pulled my shirt over my head.

"Don't get too excited. You've got a war wound needing to be attended to, remember?" she said with a slight smile and I relaxed. I hadn't, in fact, forgotten- the slice had been a necessary but inconvenient source of discomfort since I had created it.

I tensed as she unwrapped the bandage and cringed. She swallowed thickly and nodded, then spun and snatched a towel from the bedside drawer and pushed me down onto the edge of the bed.

"Wait here." She commanded and hurried out of the room, returning holding the towel that was now damp. She held it above the wound for a second before dabbing gently, barely touching me.

"If you want to clean it you're going to have to actually touch the cut, Rose." I remarked as I watched her flit around the outside of the wound, cleaning away the dirt and dried blood. She shot me a scowl, but lifted the towel to gently clean away the mess of grime that covered stake inflicted wound.

She settled into her work and relaxed, focusing as she babied me.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, her eyes still trained on my chest.

"Of course." I laughed, puzzled by her request.

"What memory did you see, when you lost control of the car?" she queried, glancing up to meet my eyes. As soon as the words crossed her lips, I felt an unexplainable desire to keep the information from her. I didn't want her to know that I'd seen that part of her past- invaded those memories.

"When you woke up, after being shot." I replied smoothly, looking down at her hands. She nodded and consideration and appraised the now clean cut. I let off an internal sigh of relief, ignoring the guilt that settled in my gut.

Her head shot up and she looked at me intently, and I returned her gaze levelly, trying to disguise the fact that my heart had begun to race. Her eyes narrowed and I cursed inwardly.

"Why are you lying to me?" she demanded, looking hurt. I swallowed guiltily as I took in her wounded expression.

"I'm sorry. I just…" I sighed. I just… didn't want her to know I'd seen memories that should never have been exposed. Didn't want her to know how much it upset me, because being upset was fruitless. Both of us had a past, and I loved her _because _of her past, not in spite of it. But that being said, I didn't need to actually experience her _romantic_ past- it just brought emotions bubbling to the surface that were poisonous and useless.

Jealousy was a disease- it would infect those around you and eat you from the inside… but I couldn't drive a wedge between us with lies and secrets.

"You and Adrian. That's what I saw- I didn't want you to know because I didn't want you to feel like I had invaded your privacy. I didn't want you to know how it…" I cut myself off before I could tell her how the memory had driven me wild.

She tried to look at me but I suddenly became very interested in the pattern on the quilt in order to avoid her gaze. She sighed and stood up from where she was kneeling in front of me and reached out, her fingertips grazing my cheek.

"You know…" she said quietly, and I leant into her touch.

"I know. I don't have any right to be upset over it but I just..." I trailed off quietly, gesturing with my palms up. I looked back up at her and felt a pang of sympathy when I took in her floundering expression. She always knew the perfect thing to say to tame my emotions, and now, looking at her expression, I knew she was lost.

"Of course you have the _right _to be jealous, but… there's no reason to be." She said, searching my face and chewing on her bottom lip. "You're my first and last, Comrade."

She stood up with a sigh, tossing me my shirt and pulling me up so I was standing in front of her.

"Ready?" she asked, her eyes nervous but determined.

"Ready if you are." I responded, swallowing thickly and pushing down the lingering worry that bubbled to the surface. It was time for both of us to put aside our fears and focus on the task at hand.

(((((O)))))

**RPOV**

As the sun began to pour light over the Horizon, our trio emerged from the hotel with an air of finality. When the day ended, so too would this nightmare and Dimitri and I would be able to put this all behind us and move on.

The hotel we had stayed at was only 10 minutes away from the secluded street the Strigoi claimed he stowed Marius's family, in Akademgorodok. Dimitri drove, his fear of plunging into a memory was still present but he justified it by telling me we each had an equal chance of being sucked into a memory. To say I wasn't impressed by his excuse when he told me was an understatement.

I grumbled, however the sound was somewhat half-hearted, dampened by the looming prospect of what we would find in the seemingly ordinary house. Images of a dead child flitted through my mind, reeling through the possibilities of what we could find. The only thing worse than finding something was finding nothing- knowing we were too late. Marius voiced my thoughts, speaking up as Dimitri slid the car to a stop.

"How do you know Desmond wasn't lying?" he questioned, appraising the rustic old house that sat at the other end of the street, nestled in among an abundance of trees.

I tore my eyes away from the house and looked up at Dimitri, who stared blankly ahead.

"He wasn't lying." He muttered, setting his mouth in a grim line. Before he could get caught up in his violent memory, I tugged him back to the present by laying my hand on his. We both turned back to the house and took a simultaneous breath, analysing the house.

"We could scout around the back, but there is a chance we'll be seen…" I started, and Dimitri's face set firmly.

"I'll do it." He said firmly, unbuckling his seat belt with the hand that wasn't holding mine. He gave it one last squeeze before sliding out of the car and disappearing into the bushes. I let my mind wander, following his pathway: keep to the trees, take a wide birth around the house, move through the forest at the back, towards the house…

A small sound from the seat behind me pulled me out of my reverie, and I spun to see Marius watching the house with anxious eyes, cracking his knuckles fervently.

I stilled his hands with an awkward pat, trying to keep the pity out of my expression. There wasn't anything I could tell him that he didn't already understand, so I just sat in silence and waited for Dimitri's return.

It didn't take him long to slink back to the car, a shadow in the trees that was barely visible. With an air of nonchalance, he got back into the car.

"One window on the upper floor at the back with a small balcony. No back door, just wooden panels on that side. There's a bunker, but its chained shut and overgrown. There's also another window on the ground level." He listed, gesturing at the house.

"The Balcony?" I asked, considering the possibility of gaining access straight to the top floor.

"Maybe if I lifted you, but I couldn't follow." He said in a tone that made it sound as though because of this, it was no longer an option. A stared at him with eyes that said, _So…? _and he answered with a firm shake of his head. I rubbed my eyes in frustration.

"You know we'd have a better chance if we did it like this. Then we'd have one on the second floor and one on the bottom." I told him with a hint of exasperation. "Trust me to take care of myself."

"Last time I did that, I found you in the arms of a Strigoi." He said with gritted teeth, staring straight ahead. I shot him a dangerous look and stayed in silence, letting him simmer down. As I had expected, he heaved a deep sigh and turned to me with a pained face.

"I'm sorry, I just can't stand it… but of course you're right." He decided, nodding resolutely. With this, I reached down to the bag at my feet and handed him a stake while taking one for myself. Precautionary.

Rummaging through the bag, I pulled out the assortment of knives we had collected and divided them between the two of us, tucking them into my boots and pockets- anywhere they would stay accessible but out of sight.

"Can you use a knife, Marius?" Dimitri spoke up, looking over his shoulder.

"No, I'll use my magic." He said, and Dimitri and I exchanged a glance. Marius had dealt out an exorbitant amount of Spirit over a short period of time, and his mind seemed to be paying the consequences. The magic was taking its toll, and I didn't know how close he perched to the edge- how much it would take for him to take the non-refundable exchange for insanity.

In his fragile state of mind, he could be a liability. If he was unable to defend himself, Dimitri would have two bodies instead of one to protect, and the notion stirred concern in my stomach. I reminded myself, again and again, that this would be easy. We were faster and stronger than humans- _these _human guards would be no exception. Despite my frequent reassurances, I couldn't still the natural swirling of sense of worry. I didn't want in any way for there to be an increased risk, and Marius's presence alone could jeopardise Dimitri's safety.

But what other choice did we have?

"I apologise… for causing you so much pain." Marius rasped from the back seat. "Though, I wish to come with you, into the building. I need to be there- I'm afraid I'll have nothing left to live for if my wife and child do not come out alive."

"What's your wife's name?" I asked.

"Lilian."

I checked myself over one last time before wordlessly sliding out of the car, and I was quickly followed by the two men. I retraced the route Dimitri had taken off of the street, following fence lines and trees of neighbouring houses before Dimitri fell into step beside me and guided the three of us the rest of the way.

_No-one is going to get hurt. It will be easy, _I reminded myself as we approached the house. These humans would, _should, _be afraid of us. Checking for no movement in the windows, Dimitri and I moved silently from the trees to the side of the house so we were standing against the back wall, under the balcony.

"This better be the right house." I breathed with a grimace. He bent down and wrapped his arms securely around my waist, and I placed my hands on his shoulders as he lifted me up. Once he was straight, I stretched my arms up and wrapped my fingers around the bottom of the railing and let him push me up by the feet until I could see into the room.

It was empty, stark. No carpet covered the concrete floor, leaving it exposed and filthy. The walls were streaked with dirt and mould, the floor littered with unidentifiable substances. The fact that this was clearly not an ordinary home both relieved and unsettled me.

With one heave, I swung myself onto the petite balcony and glanced down at where Dimitri stood on the concrete below before turning back to the window. I crouched low and ran my hands down the fly screen that covered the window, covering them with a layer of grime. I pulled out a small knife and cut the whole thing away, discarding it. Behind the mesh was a single panel of glass locked in place by metal plates, but they were heavily corroded and flaked at the touch. It only took a second of scraping away the thin metal with my knife before it broke through, and I repeated the process until the pane was held by a single rusted chunk.

Gritting my teeth, I eased the panel forward, holding onto the edges with my fingertips. Muffled masculine voices drifted into the room from a faraway corner of the house. The final hunk of metal holding the window broke off with a slight crack, and I gripped the panel desperately. I slipped inside the now empty window, having to awkwardly manoeuvre in order to maintain my hold on the glass. When my feet hit the floor, I eased it down onto the ground next to me. The voices continued rowdily and I strained my ears to hear anything coming from the floor below, going as far as kneeling and pressing my ear to the floor. Nothing.

I did the same to the door, holding my ear against it to listen for the sound of footsteps. Again, only silence greeted me, and this time I answered by easing the door open a fraction. I peered out into the deserted hallway, finding it to be in a similar state to the room I stood in.

I slipped out of the narrow space, not opening the door any further in case it brought the humans running with a creak. I would have a much better chance if I could pick them off individually rather than facing off the lot of them as a mob. Or better yet, just get Marius's family and run.

I clutched my knife, moving stealthily along the wall and concentrated on my hearing, ready to react to any noise that disturbed the quiet hallway. The house was much larger on the inside than it seemed from the outside- a maze of hallways and doors. The first door I encountered hung partially off of its hinges, allowing me to see that is was as empty as the room I had broken in to.

Moving through the halls, the gruff sound of barked conversation intensified, along with the smothering smell of tobacco. One room after the other turned up empty, some containing useless clutter and others were eerily stark. I tried to keep my mind off of the two men downstairs, and working my way through the seemingly endless cluster of rooms provided a welcome distraction. None of the searches had turned up anything worthwhile and I repressed my frustration as I encountered unlocked doors and empty rooms.

I pressed myself tightly to the wall at a corner before turning, counting to ten and listening intently for any noises. It was proving difficult to hear anything over the rowdy sounds of the men, growing ever closer as I made my way through the top floor. Something stirred in my stomach, an anxiety that kept me against the wall for an extra couple of seconds.

From the other side of the wall, the slam of a door and heavy footsteps thudded lazily towards the corner. I slowed my breathing into utter silence as the sound grew closer. A grouchy clear of the throat told me I had about three seconds before he rounded the corner. I tensed and angled myself towards the sound, waiting. The toe of a boot was the first thing I saw, and I didn't wait. I had the element of surprise and I would not waste that.

I swung around the corner and shot my palm up into his throat. He made a muffled choking noise and his eyes widened in fear before I socked him in the face and wrapped my arm around his neck in a headlock. I tightened my hold until his body went limp, and I nearly fell over with the sudden weight. I eased him onto the floor and shuffled along the wall, checking for sounds from any of the doors. I pried one of them open, finding it empty so I backtracked and dragged the unconscious man into the space and propping him up against the wall. I frisked his body quickly, searching his pockets and turning up a key card. Jackpot. I slipped it into my pocket and closed the door behind me.

One down.

I quickened my pace, searching through the top floor systematically. This house was trashed- a jungle of empty rooms and useless junk, and it made sense that Desmond would use it as his hostage centre. If I could just find the goddamn hostages.

Eventually, I had covered every branch of the house except for the one where the men continued to smoke, and by the sounds of it, drink. _Idiots. _I mulled over the possibility of retracing some of the hallways again, just to be sure.

I mentally shook myself. _Get moving, Rose. _I was stalling- but I really would have preferred to pick them off one at a time. Hovering at the corner of the noisy hallway, I debated whether to wait for backup or just scout the rooms myself. My decision was made for me when pounding footsteps thundered down the narrow passage, sending me fleeing into a nearby room.

The source of the sound stopped the blather of the raucous men, and a rapid string of Russian came from the one who ran past me. I identified five voices, and listened desperately, trying to pick up key words in their frantic conversation. _Breached… Dhampir… prisoners… Desmond. _

The men responded instantly, three sets of footsteps disappearing to the lower floor. With less voices crowding the conversation, I could make out the words of the disembodied voices more clearly.

"…Zalozhniki?"

"Leave them in their cell- they won't find them." The reply came in English, weighted heavily with a thick Russian accent that was far more prominent than Dimitri's. "Nobody leaves this house alive, _no matter what._"

I strained my ears to hear more, but the two men were done talking and had gone their separate ways. I slowed my breathing and slipped out the door, gliding down the hallway. Now they knew we were here, we had to get out- but could I just leave a defenceless woman and child in the hands of these brutish men? No.

The two pairs of footsteps had both gone in separate directions, and I followed the silence and smell of cigarettes into the room I had been so determinedly avoiding. With one last glance behind me, I grasped at the door handle and pushed. When the door refused to give, I glanced down in confusion and discovered the source of the resistance. A Keycard lock held the door in place, juxtaposing with the junkyard state of the rest of the house.

Retrieving the stolen card, I slid it through the tracks and pushed open the door. I was immediately bombarded with an overwhelming smell of sweat, alcohol and smoke. In the middle of the room, a table was set up on top of a rug, covered with gambling chips and empty bottles. The far wall was adorned with an assortment of knives and a grotty makeshift bar stood in front of it. Charming.

There was a weak sound that I couldn't place drifting through the room, and I dismissed it as I searched for anything that might clue me in to where these scumbags held Marius's family.

_Click._

It was a sound that could have meant my death. The door creaked open, and I dove behind the clunky wooden cabinet that held a collection of bottles. I wouldn't have made it if the door hadn't paused partially open for the human to yell something down the hall. I clamped a hand over my mouth, quieting my ragged breathing as the man marched into the room. He was fairly short and stocky, his face hidden behind a mass of wild dark hair. He carried a gun loosely in his right hand and moved with a limp in his step. I could take him down in a number of seconds if it weren't for that gun. I eyed it dangerously as he rummaged through the room and growled when his search came up empty.

He spun on his heels and was in the process of pushing the door open to leave when he froze. My heart hammered as he turned around slowly. I pulled a knife out of my boot and waited for him to lunge at me, but he marched forward only to stop when he reached the edge of the rug. He stooped down and threw it back, and the soft sound I had heard when I first came into the room becoming slightly less muffled. It was still distorted, but without the thick rug in place I was able to identify the sound, and it sent chills running down my spine.

A crying baby.

He ripped open a catch on the door and stuck his head down the dark opening. Seizing my chance, I grabbed one of the heavy bottles resting on the cabinet and tiptoed forwards, balancing its weight.

"_Shut _that thing up or I _will._" He growled, and he sat up just in time for him to see me smash the bottle over his head and knock him unconscious, grabbing him before he fell down the hatch. I snatched his gun up off of the floor and slipped it into my jeans, shoving his body behind the cabinet where it remained hidden.

I leaned over, looking down the trapdoor into a deep cavernous cell and into a terrified tear streaked face that lay at the bottom. I let out a wheeze of a breath when I saw her- her halo of soft blond hair clung to her face and her iridescent skin shone with blood and sweat. She looked so much like Lissa I wanted to puke. She sobbed something in Russian, and I softened my gaze into as gentle a one as possible.

"Lilian?" I coaxed gently, and her eyes widened. "This is going to be over soon, okay? We're going to get you out. Can you understand me?"

She nodded, clutching a squirming baby to her chest protectively. Gruff yelling came from downstairs and I swallowed my fear, knowing I couldn't bring her out of there yet- not with the humans running rampant with guns.

"You can trust me- we're not going to abandon you. I can't get you out of there until its safe." I said mutedly, and her gaze became terrified.

"Don't leave us!" she begged.

"It's not safe, for your baby." I said, gesturing to her precious bundle.

"You'll come back?" she asked numbly.

"I promise."

(((((O)))))

**DPOV**

The bottom floor was chaos. The men who were no doubt in the job for the money ran around the house like white ants, and it was all I could do to knock them down before they could unload a clip into my chest. Three more had come from upstairs- we could hear there yells, and I didn't know if I could keep their guns off of the both of us.

I pulled Marius into an empty room, closing the door behind us silently. I pressed my eye up against the crack- I could see a huddle of men standing below the balcony on the stairs. Their conversation came through in muffled Russian: _"Maybe we should just run- this Dhampir could kill us."_

_"There are things worse than death that I am not prepared to face. Whatever they do- I won't take the risk of the Undead one finding out we neglected our duty. No one escapes." _

A shadow at the top of the crumbling stairway balcony caught my eye, and my stomach clenched. _Rose. _At the same time, one of the humans turned and raised his gun to her direction, cocking his gun to take a shot at her hidden form. Not while I was still breathing he wouldn't.

"Stay hidden" I ordered Marius, who backed further into the room.

Not waiting for his reply, I threw the door open and pitched my knife at the one that raised the gun, planting it solidly in his back. He dropped the gun and fell to his knees, drawing the attention of the other men. I ducked behind an overturned table, putting distance between myself and Marius in case- or rather for when- they started letting off shots.

They broke into an uproar, shooting haphazardly into the table which splintered with each fire. A bullet clipped my side and I gritted my teeth, ignoring the searing pain. Another set of shots joined the fray, and the sound of bodies hitting the floor quickly followed it.

"_How many of them are there!?_" One man screamed furiously.

Good Question. I peaked up over the table, finding four humans remaining. I threw a second knife, but this time it missed the heart, finding purchase instead in his shoulder. I swore and threw myself at the man, ramming him into the wall before he could raise his weapon. He struggled, punching and kicking. I leaned over the snatch up his fallen gun, and he used my shift in weight to throw me off of him and run down the hallway, fleeing. Coward. Smart Coward.

Three humans. Oops, Spoke too soon- Rose picked off another one from her position on the balcony. I snatched up the pistol from the man I'd killed with the knife and pointed it and the one in my hand already at the two humans

"Alright enough!" I roared, training my weapons on their heads. "You're done. Now drop your weapons and tell us where the Moroi are."

They tossed their guns to my feet but stayed silent, and I tensed my fingers on the triggers.

"Don't push me." I warned dangerously, breathing heavily. "It's over- Desmond is dead."

The smell of smoke wafted through the house, and I along with the men in front of me froze. This was a different smoke to the one that clung to the humans- it was the scent of burning, tainted with the sharp smothering tang of petrol. In a matter of seconds, the flames that produced the smoke appeared in the hallway, rapidly building into a roaring fire.

The son of a bitch who ran hadn't fled- he'd set the place alight. In this dry wooden house, and it would take only minutes for the whole place to be engulfed in flames.

**Sorry for the late update- let me know if it was worth the wait!**

**Also, I felt that the cliff hanger was called for seeing as its been a few weeks since the last one *Shields self from barrage of angry readers* Please let me know what you think- I have my eyes on 200 reviews!**

**xo**


	17. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the late update- I've gone into holiday mode. I didn't get very many reviews for the last chapter- if there is any particular reason for this let me know so I can adapt my writing to the kind of thing people prefer. **

There had been two times when fire had nearly claimed my life- where my body almost became nothing more than fuel to drive the scorching mass of flame. It looked as though this would be the third.

Ignoring the humans who took off to the opposite direction, I turned my panicked gaze to Rose who still stood on the stair well and stared at the fire in horrified fascination. She turned her eyes to me, her expression twisted with regret. I took in her stance and my stomach became heavy with dread.

"Rose…" I said dangerously, watching her glance over her shoulder to the hall behind her. The fire crawled forward and I lurched towards the stairs, racing to get there before it did. I screeched to a halt and backed up as the flames blocked my path and I shot I look of panic up to Rose, whose gaze fixed on the stairs. The air was already thick with smoke that threatened to suffocate us and it began to burn on the way down to my lungs.

"Don't you dare- just jump off the staircase and get out- we still have time." I warned, my eyes not leaving her retreating form.

"I can't- I have to go back. I _promised _her and I'm not just leaving them." She rasped, kneeling on the ground to escape the worst of the overpowering smoke. "You have to go."

I could barely see her through the smoke, her form becoming less and less visible.

"I am _not leaving you." _I called hoarsely.

"Well you're sure as hell not coming with me, are you? Get out of here!" she retorted, her voice tinged with desperation. I stayed where I stood and watched her, and through the dark wall of smoke I could see her expression shut down.

"I'm not moving until I see you get out that door." She said, and ran my hand through my hair frantically as I watched the flames chew their way through the stairs towards her.

"Don't make me do this." I pleaded, my voice breaking. All I could see of her through the black haze was her form, and she remained solidly in place. I backed up, biting through my lip so hard I tasted blood. Spinning on my heels with a furious cry, I grabbed Marius roughly and dragged him down the hall where the smoke was mildly thinner.

"Lilian! Are they here? Did Rose find them?" he wheezed frantically as he stumbled along behind me. I didn't hesitate as I answered him, meeting his gaze levelly.

"No."

Glancing at the doorway behind me, I couldn't see anything but a barricade of pitch black smoke. I dropped to the floor, bringing Marius with me as I crawled my way towards the window that we'd broken into, where the light promised safety. The toxic fumes where quickly becoming denser, and I pulled my shirt up to the mouth and nose, breathing through the sweat soaked material.

I coughed violently and ignored the tears streaming down my face. _It's the smoke, _I told myself as I pulled my drowsy body towards the light, pushing aside the panicked fury and trying to deny the sense of _betrayal _that went all the way down to my toes.

I realised too late that I was alone, and when I glanced back all I could see was darkness.

"Marius? _Marius!" _I shouted, my voice coming out low and grating.

My breathing came in shallow gasps, and I hesitated for half a second before backtracking into the smoke, pulling myself on my stomach back into the furnace. My head spun, and I couldn't see anything past the blackness that smothered my face. I reached out blindly, but found nothing but scorching air. My fingers finally made purchase on a bundle of material, and I dragged the limp weight backwards, I shuffled down the end of the hall once again to the window.

This time I dragged myself out of it, my body responding on basic instinct and need to survive, tugging Marius's form along with me.

My limp body flopped onto the grass, and I dug my fingers into it and closed my eyes, sucking in deep shaky breaths. Come to think of it, my whole body shook- I was a weak, shaking mess. I heaved and retched, my lungs trying to pull in the oxygen they so desperately craved. When my body was satisfied, I turned onto my back and looked up at the sky, taking a second to wrap my spinning head around the fact that I was safe from the scorching heat and toxic smoke.

I sat up, my muscles protesting weakly as I rolled over the weight of the Moroi man next to me. My heart sank when I saw his face. His eyes stared glassily ahead, and wet tracks had dragged their way through the soot covering his face. I reached forward my own filthy hand and gently shut his eyelids.

They were still damp with recent tears.

I turned back to the house, where smoke poured out of the window, dissipating into the atmosphere. I might have escaped the furnace, but Rose was still in there.

((((O))))

**RPOV**

As soon as I saw Dimitri's silhouette disappear through the doorway, I raced back down the hall. The narrow space compressed the smoke, making it dense and almost impossible to breathe. My eyes streamed and stung, and I ripped off a strip of my shirt to cover the bottom half of my face, hoping it could filter some of the smothering smoke out.

I ran in a half crouch and desperately hoped I was running the right way- a wrong turn would cost me my life. If I was to get myself and the young Moroi out then I had one chance and one chance only. I had made a silence promise to Dimitri that everything would be okay and it was one that I intended to fulfil- the expression he wore on his face had torn at my heart. I knew full well what I had done was unforgivable. I had the power to destroy him, and I had placed that on the table in making him turn his back on me.

I huffed in relief when I found the human's gambling setup, and I tossed back the carpet and yanked the cell open, practically ripping the trap door off of its hinges.

"Lilian!" I coughed out, and her head snapped up. Her eyes were bright with panic as she leapt to her feet.

The air was quickly becoming clogged and heated- I was drenched in sweat as my body tried to cope with the ever rising temperature of the house that threatened to totally combust at any second. I stretched my arm down into the deep cell, straining my muscles to reach as far as I could.

"Is there fire?" she asked anxiously, coughing and fanning the air around her face to no avail.

"Yes- I have to get you out of here right now."

She stretched one arm up and stood on the tips of her toes, holding her squirming young child to her chest. My fingertips brushed hers and I cried out in frustration, shimmying more of my torso into the hole.

"How long do we have?" she gasped, pressing her lips together tightly.

"Minutes- less."

Her face twisted in misery, but underlying that that was an air of resignation. She blew out a breath and dropped her arm, then cradled her baby to her neck, murmuring something quietly in the little Moroi's ear. Then, she pushed up onto her toes once again, this time holding her bundle wrapped in cloth up to my outstretched hands.

"Take him. Save him." She pleaded, her voice breaking. I pulled the baby up out of the cell, but shook my violently.

"No- I can get you out… there must be something…" I said, desperately scanning the room for something- _anything_- we could use. Something to give her extra height. My eyes locked on a chair, but with my smoke induced drowsiness, I didn't know if I could even pull her out never-mind stop myself from falling in in the process.

"We don't have time and you know it- Go! Give him a chance- that's all I ask. _Please_." Tears streaked down her face, and I closed my eyes for half a second before nodding resolutely.

"He'll know what his mother did for him. There won't be a day that goes by when he doesn't know he is loved- I'll make sure of that." I swore, not knowing how I would do such a thing, but promising it would be done in the knowledge that I owed it to this stranger- to make sure her sacrifice was worthwhile.

"The smoke will put you to sleep before you feel anything." I added quietly, feeling nauseated. She nodded slowly and swallowed.

"Thankyou so much." She whispered, and I turned from the room and ran, clutching her baby to my chest. She had trusted me with the one thing in this world that meant everything to her, and I would get him out of this house if it was the last thing I did.

I was sobbing by the time I reached my destination, and I could barely see anything from my crawling position. I shuffled along the floor, refusing to glance behind me knowing I would only see fire and blackness that carried death in its wake. I held the whimpering baby cradled to my neck in one arm, and dragged myself forward with the other until I found what I was looking for.

With the fire close on my heals, I propped myself up and pushed open the door to the room with the balcony. Smoke quickly billowed in from the open doorway and the fire followed. I scrambled forward, tearing up my hand and shins on loose pieces of debris. The doorway was now engulfed in flames that caressed the walls and left scorch marks. The air was dry and toxic, and my head spun as my tried to keep my balance.

_The window. Get to the window. _

My body screamed for me to quit, to lay down and let the fire have me, but my promise to Lilian rang fresh in my mind as the infant against my chest was growing ever more lethargic as the smoke began to poison him.

Fire licked at my legs and I screamed, blackness bordering my vision, but I dragged my weight forward the last few feet and swung out of the window. The small balcony groaned under its new burden- the whole house was falling apart under its weakening foundations. I leaned over the edge, the ground rolling in waves that stirred my stomach. In the centre of the spinning, a form kneeled on the concrete, holding their head in their hands. He stood up and turned towards the forest- he was going to leave.

_Wait, _I thought desperately, reaching my spare hand out blindly. I stumbled forward and finally lost my balance, toppling over the edge of the low railing and falling into the empty space, clutching my precious bundle to my chest as the darkness finally engulfed me.

(((((O))))))

_He watched me from the other side of the room, his eyes tender as they followed me. His lips pulled up in a soft smile as I leaned over to whisper something in Lissa's ear and we leaned on each other in a bout of laughter. _

_He glanced at the Dhampir who came to stand next to him, dressed in a smart suit identical to the ones worn around him. _

_"So where do you call home, Belikov?" he asked conversationally. _

Home. _The word had never really meant much to him since his younger years, and he had long since grown out of his childhood home. He supposed, then, that technically his assignment would be considered where he belonged. I thought about his question and realised it was a fairly stupid one- what Dhampir really had a home these days?_

_He scanned the room briefly before his eyes settled on Christian. Yes- Christian was probably the most constant fixture in his life. He followed where his assigned charge went. Then again, that could only be said for a charge that stayed close by, so he would never be too far from Rose…_

_"That woman over there." He said seriously. "I go where she goes." _

_The Guardian next to him shot him a doubtful look, then chuckled softly as he appraised Dimitri's gaze with a shake of his head. In his memory, my figure across the room caught his gaze and winked. He made a half-hearted excuse and left the other Guardian, setting his drink down and moving to meet me. _

_"Hey stranger." Dimitri breathed, "Dance with me?" _

_"I don't know… I have a boyfriend, you know." I said playfully. "He's the jealous type."_

_"Is he?" He asked, pulling us onto the floor where a handful of couples already danced lazily. He tugged me close and nuzzled my ear. His senses were clouded with pure _Rose. _The smell of my shampoo and perfume, the silky material of my dress under his hands. _

_This- this was what the future held. _

_This was home. _

(((((O)))))

**DPOV**

I dropped my head into my hands when I heard her screaming. I tried to block the sound out, but I couldn't make myself move away from the spot on the ground in front of the house.

There wasn't any way to get back into the house, and I didn't want to look up and see the house that would be her coffin. I couldn't hear her screams anymore- I couldn't hear anything over the roar in my ears. It was over.

I pulled myself off the concrete with shaking limbs, and without looking up turned towards the trees behind me. Standing with my shoulders hunched, I willed myself to take the first step. That first step will be the hardest, and from there it would get easier. I leaned forward, knowing she would want me to go.

What did it matter what she wanted? She was dead. She certainly hadn't cared what _I _wanted when she forced my hand. My shoulders shook and I slowly began rotating around to look at the house. I could hear it creak and groan, ready to collapse into a pile of rubble- it was entirely likely it would fall on _me._ Icouldn't bring myself to care.

I turned just in time to see her body hit the concrete.

I froze and stared at her crumpled body in disbelief, feeling numb. A flaming beam of wood crashed to the ground and snapped me out of my reverie. I shot forward to where her lifeless body lay vulnerable, my hands fumbling at her neck for a pulse.

I let out the breath I had been holding when I felt her erratic heartbeat against my fingertips. I took half a second to check the damage from her fall, thanking the stars she had been unconscious when she hit. Her left shoulder had taken the brunt of the impact, and her collar bone was likely shattered as well. Positioning her neck gently in the crook of my arm so as not to cause irreparable damage and aggravate her already brutal wounds, I dragged her backwards slowly.

Tears flooded my vision as I pulled her away from the burning wreckage of a house, and I stroked her cheek clumsily, mumbling nonsensical soothing words that I knew she couldn't hear. When we reached the tree line, I sagged to the floor and propped her up against my chest, breathing heavily.

I rested my head on the crown of hers gently, the scent of singed hair radiating off of it. Her legs were played in front of us, and I could see severe burns running up their length, and blood dripped off of her lacerated palms- not to mention the smoke inhalation that had coated our lungs.

The shoulder she had fallen on hang limply on an unnatural angle, but her right arm remained tightly locked around a bundle of cloth. I shifted her weight and reached forward, tugging at the cloth.

I jerked my arm back when I saw flesh, my chin dropping. I locked my jaw, pulling the weight out of her arms and gently peeling back the covers until it revealed a tiny pale foot. I relaxed slightly when the toes of the infant curled, and let the rest of the blanket fall away.

"Jesus Christ…" I breathed, taking in the sluggish baby. It wore a grubby pale yellow jump suit, and was covered from head to toe in a thin layer of grime. It had clearly remained fairly protected from the smoke in its wad of blanket, but the inhalation had left the baby drowsy.  
I ran my eyes over it, finding no blood or blemishes marking its pale white skin- it was a healthy baby. A healthy _Moroi _baby.

My eyes wide, I wrapped it back up tightly and looked down at Rose's broken form. What did we need?

Help. We needed help.

As though on cue, the distant sound of wailing sirens pierced the air and I relaxed into a tree behind me, with Rose clutched to my chest and Marius's orphan cradled in my arm.


	18. Chapter 17

I watched them load her into an ambulance, decked up with an oxygen mask and neck brace. They'd tried to get me to do the same, but had finally settled on handing me a mask that I had to take breaths from every now and then and take continuous sips of water.

The human in front of me probed me with gentle questions about the blaze but I stayed relatively quiet, giving short and vague answers. They decided amongst themselves that I must be traumatized by the fire, but mostly I just didn't want to create too much hassle with the alchemists. It would be easier to let them come up with a cover story rather than try to hatch one up myself.

Rose's dilapidated body disappeared into the back of their van, and I jumped up before they closed it, squeezing my way into the semi-closed doors.

"Sir! You can't be in here." The flustered paramedic officer said firmly. I eyed her for a second, then decided my best bet would be to pull the sympathy card- they already thought I was unstable.

"Please don't make me leave them- I just need to be here in case she wakes up." I pleaded, only partially acting. The woman's gaze softened and she pursed her lips.

"The child is yours, then?" she asked, and I gave one resolute nod that masked by doubt. I didn't know what was going to happen to the young Moroi and my heart went out to him, but for now, at least, he would have a family with us.

She started to say something else, but I zoned out and slid down next to Rose, resting my head on the thin plastic that lined her stretcher.

My throat was dry and felt like I'd swallowed a handful of broken glass, but the rest of me felt little more than worn down. The car jostled, making Rose whimper. I jerked my head up to shoot a look at the guilty eyed paramedic, knowing it wasn't her fault but not feeling particularly reasonable.

I leaned my head against the wall of the car, then did it again with a little more force, making a slight _bang _when my head hit the side and earning me a disapproving look from the woman. I couldn't gain control of my rampaging emotions- part of me was at peace with the fact that she was alive. She would not be leaving me.

The rest of me was in uproar with blind fury. I couldn't really justify my rage, but I knew that it was targeted at Rose- She twisted my arm to leave her to die. Of all the things she could have done, that was by far the most tormenting.

She cried out again, this time I heard my name mixed among her agonised moans, and I threaded my fingers through her limp ones. Putting aside my issues with her for later, I blocked the world out and held her hand tightly as we sped towards the hospital, finally leaving the horror and bloodshed behind us.

(((((O)))))

**RPOV**

_Bleep. Bleep bleep. Bleep._

So I was alive, apparently. Though I couldn't feel anything from the neck down- I couldn't move. My heavy drugged up muscles couldn't do anything but pull air in and out of my lungs.

I waited, letting my entire body wake up gradually and become more aware. Soft voices came from nearby, but my eyelids glued too tightly shut for me to open them yet. There was a warm weight on my hand- callused fingertips holding mine, their thumb drawing slow circles on the back of my palm.

A slow recollection of the fire came more and more into focus as the fog in my mind cleared away. My chest constricted with guilt- Lilian. If I had been stronger, faster, braver… If I had been Dimitri. I tried to push the image of her tortured expression out of my mind- the one she wore when she knew she had to die, but it was burned into the back of my eyelids. I put her memory into the corner of my mind reserved for those I couldn't save- those I had failed. Her face rested with those of Mason and Viktor. I sighed, and the voices cut off abruptly.

I tried to adjust my weight, but my neck and shoulders were locked in place. I squirmed, growing frantic- I couldn't move, I was trapped. Something was wrong- maybe Desmond wasn't really dead and had locked us up again, dooming us to live in solitude.

"Hey! Shhhh- Rose. You're okay. Everything's okay." A voice crooned, and I stilled. I pulled my eyes open, but the light above me was so bright that I had to shut them immediately. I tried again, letting them flutter open and the shapes around me coming into focus. I settled my breathing and stared at the clinical white ceiling.

"She's awake?" someone whispered, and the sound of footsteps approached my cot.

"Gah!" I croaked, flinching away from the face that popped up just inches from mine.

"Hello daughter-of-mine." It said merrily and my face stretched into a tired smile.

"Old man!"

"Nice to see you too, Rose." He said dryly, flashing me a toothy grin. His face was alight with relief, under toned with the kind of parental concern that up until a few years ago didn't even exist in my world.

Another silhouette leaned forward into my line of sight- the one that had been brushing their fingers over my hand. Dimitri's hair hung dishevelled in his eyes and a ghost of a beard shadowed his face. His eyes were bloodshot and underlined with dark bags.

"Hey Comrade." I said weakly, giving him a once over. "You must look worse than I do."

His eyes flicked over my broken and bruised body before coming to rest on my face, pulling the corner of his mouth up into a feeble smirk.

"Not likely." He joked half-heartedly.

I reached up with my free hand, running my fingers across the tubes that wound their way across my face and into my nose, then touching the plastic that held my neck and shoulder straight. I didn't know how much damage I had done, and the prospect of a permanently broken body sent my mind skittering.

"How bad is it?" I whispered numbly. "I don't even really remember what happened."

"You were unconscious when you hit the concrete. Thank god." Dimitri breathed. "I don't exactly know… I didn't see _how…_" he stuttered, looking haunted.

"We think you must have gotten to the balcony and the smoke inhalation finally got to you." Abe finished for him.

I frowned- No, that wasn't exactly what happened. Shaking my head slightly, I turned back to Dimitri.

"I wasn't unconscious…" I started, and the colour left in his face drained away. "I was in another memory. It wasn't anything important, really. Just a soft, happy memory. It was your thoughts that made it into something worthwhile. The impact must have knocked me out, but I didn't feel it."

Dimitri's eyes lit with understanding, but Abe frowned at me.

"You must have hit your head harder than we thought…" he muttered.

His words brought back my memory of the fall. I had a vague recollection of getting to the balcony and seeing Dimitri's silhouette. I tried to reach him and stumbled, losing my balance and plunging over the edge. I'd only just managed to twist my body so my shoulder took the brunt of the fall so that… I jerked up, my eyes, wide and desperate, swivelling to Dimitri. How could I have forgotten?

"The baby?" I gasped. Abe glanced at me and rolled his eyes.

"Very funny Rose."

"He's fine- no harm done." Dimitri said gently, and Abe's eyes bugged out of his head. Relief washed over me. If nothing else, I could give Lilian this-I hadn't failed her completely.

"What do you mean _the_ _baby? _Are you _pregnant?" _

I wrinkled my nose- _pregnant. _Me. It was laughable.

"Calm down, old man. That's impossible, remember- Dhampirs?" I said, and he huffed, still looking flustered.

"I'll explain this outside. Our visiting time is up, anyway."

"Wait! Marius…?" I asked hesitantly, and Dimitri's gaze darkened. He shook his head once, his jaw tense. My stomach twisted painfully, and I turned my face into the pillow with a heavy sigh.

"Get some rest, Rose."

_Get some rest. _Ha- okay. As if I could sleep after what happened…I couldn't… sleep...

Before I knew what was even happening, the soft warm hand of sleep closed off my senses and lulled me into a dreamless haze. So maybe I was a little bit tired.

(((((O)))))

**DPOV**

"So what are you going to do with it?"

"_Him._" I corrected, "And I have no idea. We're just going through the motions for now. First priority is to wait until the alchemists sort something out so we can get you to heal Rose, and then…" I trailed off with a shake of my head. And then… what? I supposed we would take the child with us to court- we didn't really have much other choice. God knows how we would proceed from there, and thinking about it only succeeded in giving me a headache and sending my already frazzled mind into a state of complete disrepair.

"Nothing is ever easy with you two, is it?" Adrian said thoughtfully, and I shot him a withering look.

"Try living it."

**RPOV**

"Psst."

"Psssssst." A pointed finger poked me in the stomach and I squirmed, swatting the unsuspecting intruder with my good hand. There was a grunt and a sigh, and suddenly someone was pulling my eyelids open with their fingertips.

"Hey! Have a little courtesy for the injured… Adrian!"

He shot me a winning smile and patted my head. I leaned into his hand with a smile of my own.

"I'm your nurse." He said brightly.

"You know you could have just woke me up like a normal person. You didn't have to molest my eyelids." I muttered and he rolled his eyes.

"Good to have you back, Rose," He said. "How're you doing?"

"Ah, you know how it is..." I sighed, and he nodded then rubbed his hands together. "It's good to see you- you know, in person."

"I know. The dreams don't even compare… especially now that we know you're safe. It's agonising, seeing you in those dreams and not knowing if the next time I reach out to you that you'll even be there, or if you'll be the same as when I first saw you and you wouldn't even respond. God, Rose- that was terrifying. It was like you weren't even there- you were so… vacant. I- I thought I was too late."

I looked up at his disturbed expression and repressed a shudder. I reached up and took his hand, but he barely even noticed- he was too caught up in his own memory.

"Hey- I'm here now, okay? And I wouldn't be if it weren't for you." I said, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Yeah well, what are friends for? Okay, let's get down to business. One healing coming up." He said, rubbing his hands together.

"Adrian, you don't have to…" I started, but trailed off. What would I do if he didn't? Work at a desk for the rest of my life probably.

"Okay then, I won't." He shrugged, and turned to walk out of the room with an air of fake casualness, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Wait…" I called, and bit my lip. It was selfish to ask him to waste his magic on me but… boy did I want it.

"I thought as much." He said, his lips quirking. He walked back over to my cot and put his hands on my shoulder, letting his magic seep through me. My shoulder shifted and clicked back into place- not painful, but making me grimace nonetheless. He finished up and wobbled slightly, sinking into the squashy chair in the corner.

"Thanks." I whispered, and he nodded. Voices at the door made us both look up, and the door swung open to reveal a man and a woman in scrubs- the man was a Moroi.

"Good Morning Miss Hathaway. I am- _was- _to be helping you through the healing process, but with your special circumstances you've been transferred out of my hands and into those of your own specialist." She said, looking extremely miffed at being considered incapable. "Dr Davis, who I'm sure you recognise."

I'd never seen him in my whole life, but I went along with her words, nodding wisely. Ah yes, good old Dr Davis. I met his eyes, and he winked. I wondered what kind of 'special circumstances_' _they had fabricated to have me transferred- _Sorry Doctor, but you can't treat this patient because she is a vampire. _

She nodded at me and with one last dirty look at Dr Davis, she left the room, leaving the scent of lemon fabric softener in her wake. As soon as the door closed behind her, the Moroi doctor came to stand beside my cot and flipped through his clipboard.

"Sorry about that, but we wanted you out of their hands as quickly as possible." he said. His voice was low and gentle, and had a calming effect on the room. I nodded at his words, or as much as I could with the neck brace securing my head in place.

"Do you think it would be alright if I took this neck prison off, please?" I asked and he looked up quizzically. His eyes rested on the brace around my neck and a small smile graced his lips.

"Of course." He reached forward and unstrapped the Velcro, freeing my neck. I stretched it both ways, working out the stiffness.

"Do you mind if I take a look at your shoulder?"

I offered my arm to him as an answer, and he detached the plastic brace that held it in place as well, and gently prodded my shoulder blade. He frowned and examined all over, then glanced back it his clipboard. Then to my shoulder again, and back to the clipboard. Shoulder, clipboard, shoulder.

I glanced at Adrian, who was smirking at the Doctor's dumbfounded expression.

"Um… Doc?" I said, and he hummed, barely looking up.

"Doctor Davis." I repeated, a little louder this time to grab his full attention. "I don't suppose you've ever heard of Spirit Magic?"

((((O))))

"Where's Dimitri?"

Adrian sighed and settled down into the rigid plastic chairs. We watched Abe shuffle through documents while simultaneously charm the pants off of the receptionist at the hospital. I was perfectly capable of dealing with my own paperwork but enjoyed letting Abe play dad almost as much as _Abe_ enjoyed playing dad.

"He's getting the car, why?"

I pursed my lips and frowned. He'd been extraordinarily distant since I'd first woken up- it was almost as if he was going out of his way to keep his distance from me. Adrian took in my expression and quirked his eyebrows.

"Trouble in paradise?"

I rolled my eyes at his insensitivity, but couldn't help nodding. Something was amiss, and I suspected I knew what it was. Reading Dimitri had never been a challenge for me, and his behaviour could only be explained by one thing.

"He's been keeping his distance- I think it might have been something that happened in the fire." I said tiredly, rubbing my forehead. Adrian stayed quiet, and when I glanced at him, he was looking at me expectantly.

"I… made him leave me. The path to me was blocked, and I was stuck on the stairs. I could have jumped, but I went back for a Moroi woman and her baby. There wasn't any way Dimitri would have got to me, so I told him to go. He refused, of course…" I said bitterly, pausing and letting my words sink in.

"So, I told him that I wouldn't move until he left the room. The fire in that house moved incredibly fast- I can't even begin to describe it. It wouldn't have taken long for it to reach me, so he left. He didn't have a choice."

Adrian let off a low whistle, his face a mask of astonishment.

"You _think _that might have upset him?" he asked sardonically, shaking his head.

"Do you think he'll… _we'll _be okay?" I asked quietly, hanging my head in my hands. If someone had told me a month ago that I would be asking Adrian for relationship advice I would have told them they were insane. But… things change. I didn't think there _was _a thing to be advised about and look how wrong I was.

He stayed quiet for a minute, looking at me intently before answering.

"I'm sure it'll all blow over, but even if it doesn't… well, you're not really the type of person to just let the people you love go. You'll figure it out." He said, and before I could answer the sound of Abe clearing his throat made us both look up.

"Time to go home."


	19. Chapter 18

The plane bounced as it hit the runway, and as it slowed to a stop, I finally allowed myself to relax- we were safe. It was over. So what did that mean?

We might have escaped, but there were so many questions unanswered- so many lingering doubts. We'd sent a message to Dimitri's family to let them know we were safe on our way home- but was it enough? Should we have gone back to them? Not to mention the fact that Dimitri and I were yet to understand the lasting effects of Marius's magic. I didn't know if his death had severed the connection or if the spirit was yet to wear off.

Then of course, we had the responsibility of the orphaned Moroi baby thrust in to our hands. Unsure what the proper set of actions was, we'd brought him with us. What else were we supposed to do-give him to a foster home in Russia? He lay cradled now in the front of Abe's lavish jet, blissfully unaware of how lost he was in the world. I hadn't forgotten my promise to Lilian- I would find him a loving home and give him a fair chance at a sheltered life. As soon as we were given the all clear to get out of our seats, I moved to stand over where he slept.

I brushed my thumb over his cheek instinctually, stroking back the soft downy hair that poked every which way from the top of his head. He stirred and gargled, and I jerked my hand back. I stared at him in a mix of wonder and shock and his tiny little eyes fluttered open and he looked around, disorientated. He put one hand in his mouth and sucked on his fingers, and waved his other fist at me. I found myself smiling slightly, and hesitantly reached back down so he could grab my fingers- his whole fist could wrap around my thumb just once.

I laughed breathlessly, and he returned the gesture- his gummy smile making his dark blue eyes scrunch up. I was so transfixed by the baby, I had barely noticed that nobody on the plane had moved. I glanced up, and found three pairs of eyes fixed on me, each wearing a different expression. Adrian's green eyes projected amusement and Abe just looked freaked out. Dimitri's eyes- the ones whose expression was the one that was most important to me- looked troubled. His whole body language broadcasted the fact that something was amiss.

My gaze flicked between the three of them and I pulled my hand out of the baby's grasp, earning myself an unhappy coo.

"What?" I said defensively, crossing my arms to shield myself from their stares. I glanced back at Dimitri but he wouldn't meet my gaze. Instead, he walked past me and with a quick thankyou to the pilot, pushed through the door and got off the jet.

I followed him with my eyes, my stomach churning. _I will fix this. _I turned back to the other two men, who both seemed to be very interested in the patterns on the carpet, or their shoes, or anywhere but me. I brushed them off and moved forward to follow him, but hesitated and glanced back at the baby.

I was torn- someone had to bring him off the plane, but I didn't even know how to act around babies, much less carry one. Adrian saw my conflicted expression and smiled gently.

"It's okay- I'll take the baby. You go salvage your relationship. That is, if Lissa doesn't find you first." He said, and I looked at him incredulously.

"You'll take the baby?" I repeated disbelievingly, and he shot me an expression of mock hurt.

"I'll have you know I'm good with kids."

I was about to roll my eyes, but stopped myself as I remembered his big brother instinct around Jill. I nodded my thanks and moved to the door, pausing once again. I turned around and ran up to Abe, pulling him into a hug. He barely hesitated before gingerly putting his arms around my torso.

"Thanks for, you know, bringing me back home. Again."

He smirked, and the mischievous glint in his eyes told me he enjoyed being involved in the excitement more than he should, even if it was just to collect me from hospital. He liked being important- a key player in the happy ending. Or the not so happy ending, depending on how you looked at it.

"Anytime, Rose. Though, do try to stay out of trouble… for a while. I don't think your friends could take much more. Here they come now." He said, nodding to the door. I snapped my head towards his gesture and saw that there were indeed a couple of people hurrying to meet the plane, as well as one figure standing hesitantly at the foot of the fold out staircase, his hands buried in his pockets and his head bent against the wind.

"Are you coming?" I asked, motioning to the little gathering that approached the plane. He hesitated, looking unsure, but gave a slight nod and moved to talk to the pilot. I turned away from him and ran to the door and down the steps, taking them two at a time. It had barely even been a month since we'd left court and I'd last seen the faces of the people I loved, but it had felt like an eternity.

My face broke out in to a grin as the person leading the handful of figures barrelled in to me. Eddie, wrapped me up in a huge bear hug and lifted me off the ground, swinging me in circles. I buried my face in his chest and laughed, holding on to him tightly.

"Oh, thank god." He breathed, setting me down and stepping back. "Don't ever scare us like that again."

"_Rose!" _another voice shrieks, and I turn in time to see Lissa crash into me, her tear streaked face so overcome with emotion it was impossibe to place just one.

"You have _no idea _how scared I've been. I wanted to come, but I couldn't, I had to be here- and then they said they'd found you, and they told me you were fine." She blubbered hysterically. "Then I find out you're _comatose _and nearly died _falling from a freaking balcony _in a fire… They _lied _to me. Oh my god."

She spun on her heels and turned a vicious glare onto Adrian. He widened his eyes and backed away frantically, but she darted forward and shoved his chest.

"_You lied to me!" _she seethed, her gaze murderous. "Do you have any idea what it was like when I found out SHE WAS PRACTICALLY DEAD? And here I was, thinking everything was fine, being all _relieved." _

She shoved him again and this time he put his hand up defensively, while the rest of the entourage watched on in amusement.

"Whoa there cuz- watch out for the precious cargo." He said, shielding the lump of blankets in his arm from her wrath. She froze and stared at the bundle.

"What is that?" she whispered, then turned to me. Her gaze was bewildered and a little panicked, and she kept flicking glances at the baby. "Is that a baby?"

Her voice was rising with each word, getting higher and higher pitched. Her next words came out as more of a squeak that anything else.

"Why do you have a baby?"

She took a deep breath and shook her head, wiping her eyes.

"Never mind, I don't want to know. Not yet. I'm just… so, so relieved." She sighed, and nuzzled into my shoulder again. When we finally pulled away from each other, I found that two other people joined us, and they were lingering at the back. I caught sight of a blaze of curling red hair and I threw myself at my mother, the force causing us both to stumble back a few steps.

She smoothed down my hair and pulled back with a smile.

"I'm glad you could be here." I said, and she nodded in agreement. Over the top of her head, I caught sight of Lissa pulling Dimitri in a tight embrace, which he returned. I frowned, and my mother turned her eyes to me in a concerned gaze.

"Is everything okay? Are you dealing with everything fine on your own?" she asked and I nodded. She seemed appeased, and pulled away. "Good girl. I'll let you get back to your friends. Words can't describe how worried we've been- it means everything you're both home and safe… Is that Ibrahim?"

She immediately perked up at the sight of my father, changing from concerned mother into eager and willing prey to Abe's charms in an instant. I stepped away from her and scanned the small crowd for Dimitri but found him exchanging casual banter with Eddie, so I turned my gaze to another figure whose silence stood out like a sore thumb in the bright welcoming atmosphere.

He caught my gaze with a smirk and I sidled over to where he stood apart from the other handful of people.

"Christian!" I greeted with a grin. "Still as socially awkward as ever, I see."

"Still as much of a snarky bitch as ever, I see." He mimicked and I laughed, throwing my head back. I froze when he put an arm around me in a half hug- Christian never gave out voluntary hugs. It lasted half a second before he tried to pull back, but I grabbed him in a vice like grip, wrapping both my arms around him tightly.

"Ah I missed you, Christian." I laughed as he squirmed in attempt to escape my sisterly embrace. I yelped when he summoned up a thin tendril of flame, hovering it in front of my nose. I pushed him away and it dissipated. I sighed with relief, the brief heat of the flame touching my face, letting me relive the house fire in an all too familiar way. Christian caught my agitated expression and his own face darkened.

"Shit. Sorry, Rose. That was stupid."

I waved him off, but Lissa had seen him do it and marched over. She shot him a dirty look and smacked him upside the head. I covered my laugh with a cough at the scolding, but couldn't help the one that escaped my lips at his feeble expression. If I didn't know better, I'd say Christian Ozera just got told.

I turned away from them, and in one last dejected attempt, sought out Dimitri. He glanced at my approaching form and turned away. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut, but desperately wrestled down my growing sense of anxiety. It almost seemed like Dimitri was completely avoiding me.

**DPOV**

I was avoiding her.

But that didn't mean I was going to let her out of my sight. Contradictory, I know, but I couldn't bear to talk to her. Every time I met her eyes, the sick sense of uneasiness returned. The sense that if the chance arose and she had to sacrifice herself or let me die, she would choose to let me live. Only doing so would kill me a thousand times over. She had to know that, and yet she did it anyway.

So I avoided her gaze, but made sure she was always there, always safe as she laughed and embraced the people that had missed her so much over the last month.

A tap on my elbow me glance down to find a guardian in front of me- a doll sized portion of lethality.

"Guardian Hathaway."

"Guardian Belikov." She nodded in reply, "I just wanted to thank you for whatever part you played in returning my daughter home safely. It… means a lot." Her demeanour was formal and business-like, but there was a glint of vulnerability in her eyes that told me she cared far more about the wellbeing of her daughter than she let the world see.

What she clearly didn't realise was the insignificance of the part I had played in her rescue- I may have been a key player in the escape but my role was easily exchangeable. Anyone could have performed my job and it wouldn't have made any difference. I'm sure if I had never come, Rose would have found a way out on her own anyway. The same couldn't be said for Adrian- without him, Rose would never have broken out of Desmond's trance.

"The real person you need to be thanking is Lord Ivashkov. Rose wouldn't be here if not for him- he brought her back enough that she could fight for herself."

"Ivashkov saved her?" she said, an undertone of surprise breaking through her voice. "I didn't think him and Rose… Well, I suppose he couldn't hate her forever. It seems to be impossible not to love, Rose."

"It's also quite a hard thing to do." I said, and she chuckled in agreement.

Upon Lissa's command, the little congregation of people beside the plane began moving back towards the court. Rose walked with Eddie's arm slung casually around her shoulder and Lissa's arm linked through hers. She kept casting furtive glances over her shoulder at me, but I kept my gaze locked firmly on the paved path in front of me.

"Hey Russia, Can I talk to you?" Adrian's voice came at my shoulder. He stood with his arms crossed (the baby was with Janine) and his eyes were hard as he scrutinized me. I nodded once and followed him across the grass. Rose watched us go with troubled eyes, and when she caught my gaze mouthed two words.

_Our Place. _

Her face told me it was non-negotiable, but I didn't know yet whether I was ready to talk to her. I was stalling, sure, but I needed _time. _I wasn't prepared to confront her- I just wanted this to all disappear.

When we were out of their line of sight, Adrian stopped suddenly and spun to face me, fixing me with a stare. I glanced around us and found we were in one of the many court gardens that were scattered about, providing a semi private setting. The garden was pristine- little polished marble seats were nestled in among blooming flowers and shaded by towering Oak trees, and the grass we stood on was neatly clipped and flawless.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, and I raised my eyebrows.

"I could ask you the same question."

"No, _what are you doing with Rose?" _He asked impatiently, and I took a step back.

"Nothing. Nothing of your concern." I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Just tell me you're not going to do anything stupid." He said, ignoring my hint for him to drop it.

"I'm going to do what I have to do." I said gritting my teeth and he stared at me, his brow furrowing. It took me a second to realise he was reading my Aura. My temper flared but I pushed it aside and ignored the urge to yell at him like a child.

"You're going to quit." He said quietly, and I flinched. "Are you kidding me?"

"Have you lost your fucking mind? You _know _what's going to happen- you'll do this now then realise what an idiot you are being and regret this for the rest of your life. Remember what happened last time you fucked around with your feelings for her? People got hurt. Walk away now and you will beg for the rest of your life to take it back. Don't let your pride get in the way of what you want."

My control snapped, and whatever attempt I had made at being civil went down the drain. I clenched my fists and my side, seething.

"Pride? You think this is about pride? She made me leave her to die- I heard her screams and there was _nothing I could do!_ Don't talk about things you don't understand."

"You think I don't know how hard it is to love her? I waited for _months _for her to come back gallivanting around the world, looking for _you. _Then, even after she came back, she was still gone for you. Even when I knew she could never love me like she loved you, I didn't quit. And now you're just going to walk away?"

He was pacing back and forth in front of me, and kept shooting me disgusted looks. I swallowed the guilt that surged up in my throat, knowing every word he spoke was the truth.

"I don't have the strength to see her get hurt." I said, my voice cracking.

"Like it or not that's part of your life. You have to fight- not just for your life but also for your love. You can't just hand it over like that- I can't believe you think you actually want to go through with this."

I took a deep breath and turned away from him, rubbing my face with my hands.

"I have to talk to her." I said quietly, and he snorted.

"I'll say. And Belikov?" He paused, and I glanced back at him questioningly. "Don't fuck up."

((((O))))

**RPOV **

I was going to wear a hole in the carpet- I'd been pacing back and forth so fervently that I was sure that there couldn't be anything left under my feet.

The waiting was the worst- it was like preparing for my own execution. Again.

I glanced at the clock for the third time in the last minute. The consistent ticking of the hands seemed to be taunting me but I couldn't look away. _How long? _

My question was answered when the front door burst open, smashing against the wall behind it hard enough that I wouldn't be surprised If there was a gaping hole in the plaster. Dimitri stood panting in the doorway, looking unsure as to whether he could move forward any further.

"I…I…" he blinked, his mouth hanging open. He looked lost in his own home.

"I'm an Idiot." He said finally. I considered his words for a second then nodded.

"I know."

"But I can't forgive you for what you did."

I flinched, but nodded again slowly. "I know."

He finally moved out of the doorway, and moved to stand by the fireplace, and then thought better of it and leaned against a wall. He changed his mind again and perched on the edge of the table, then stood up and finally settled on just standing in front of me.

"So where does that leave us?" I asked.

"I… don't know."

"What- so that's it? You're just going to end us." The words came out as more of a statement than a question, and I urged myself to keep the desperation out of my voice. He ran both of his hands through his hair and left them intertwined on top of his head.

"You don't see… what you did- it was the worst possible thing you could have done to me. You could have staked me through the back and it would have been easier than if you'd died and I'd done nothing to stop it."

"I was saving you! What did you want me to do?"

"I don't care about ME!" he growled, shaking his head. "How could you do that to me? You had to know."

"What choice did I have? You would have killed yourself trying to get to me!"

"You don't under-" he started, but I cut him off.

"_Of course I understand!"_

"You _can't_- because if you did you would never have done it! I love you more than I love myself, more than I love my own life and you _MADE ME WALK AWAY._" He roared, his voice raw. "And now…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but the unspoken words hung in the air between us. _And now I have to walk away. _His expression grew pained, and he sank to his knees in front of me.

"It's impossible not to love you, Rose. Everything about you. You're just… not an easy person to love."

I looked down at him, where he stared up at me with an expression of agony on full display.

"You think it's any different for me- you don't think that that I have the same issues, doubts? But do you know why I never complain? Because I know that it's worth it, that I would go through all of it a thousand times just so I could have a chance at this." I said gesturing around our house. It was filled with so much _us _that I couldn't bear to lose it- it had grown from simple guardian housing into something so entirely ours that it was impossible not to see it. Every crevice, every corner, every surface was filled with memories of Dimitri and I- mementos scattered about on shelves and tables, and the memories we carried with us.

"What would you have done, if our roles were reversed?" I asked, and his head snapped up. He considered my question and shook his head.

"I- I don't know."

"Well, I do. You would have gone back for the Moroi, and you would have made me get the hell out of there. So how can you hold it against me?" I said, pulling a chair towards me and sliding into it so that I could be at his eyelevel.

He leaned forward and rested his head on my knees. I threaded my hands through his hair and he exhaled shakily.

"I just can't lose you." He whispered, his voice threatening to crack.

"I'm not going anywhere, Comrade." I said quietly, stroking his hair. "I just have too much to live for."

**DPOV**

I slid my arms around her waist, still resting my head on her lap. I had to be completely insane if I thought this was something I would ever be willing to give up.

She slid off of the chair and pulled me to my feet, then stepped closer to me to rest her head on my shoulder. It was true- this was a lot to lose, but it was everything to gain. I put my hands on either side of her face, pulling her back a couple of inches so I could see her face as I ran my thumbs along her cheekbones.

I leaned forward hesitantly, as though she would disappear if I moved too quickly. I rested my head against hers, brushing her nose with mine. She let of a barely audible sigh and turned her head so her lips were just above my ear.

"Tell me I'm worth it." She breathed. Was she worth the fear of losing her, the heartbreak it would cause if I did? Was it worth having my heart ripped to shreds if she disappeared, to feel her pain as my own only tenfold?

"Always."

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! They are spectacular and make me feel great about writing. The question is: Do I have the potential to publish my own book? **

**As a side note, happy birthday ****_Alexzandra_****.**

**So we are nearing the end of this story, unfortunately. There are just a few loose ends to tie up and that will be where I leave you. Please review **

**xo**


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